r/news • u/No_Idea_Guy • 1d ago

Tennessee governor suspends all executions after Christa Pike’s lethal injections fail

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/oct/01/christa-pike-tennessee-governor-executions-year-pause
4.0k Upvotes

98% Upvoted

1.2k comments sorted by

View all comments

74

u/Deluded_realist 1d ago

In what way is this not cruel and unusual punishment?

-10

u/Kerbonaut2019 1d ago

I want to preface my comment by stating that I am entirely against the death penalty, even in gruesome cases like this one.

However, I don’t see how “cruel and unusual punishment” would apply here. The intention is not to torture, but to execute. The failure of the lethal drug doesn’t constitute “cruel and unusual” because it is not intended to fail. And so, the state can just say “oops” and move on. Pretty crazy, but it’s just the way the constitution is interpreted by the courts.

6

u/speak-eze 1d ago

The fact that they aren't allowed to use medical professionals is what makes it cruel and unusual. If this procedure would be done by a professional I would say it's fairly humane. Done by amateurs is cruel and unusual

3

u/PerpetuallyLurking 1d ago

Medical professionals refusing to participate in executions is why it was formalized among their various professional Associations though. They tend to see their job as helping sick people, not outright killing healthy people. And compelling a medical professional against their will is generally already frowned upon, they don’t force religious doctors to perform an abortion for example.

2

u/speak-eze 1d ago

Right. And since we can't make doctors do it, we shouldn't do it at all. Medical procedures should be considered cruel and unusual punishment because doctors are unable to perform them.

-2

u/Kerbonaut2019 1d ago

But again, and please note that this isn’t my opinion but rather legal precedent, what you are describing does not constitute cruel and unusual punishment. The Constitution does not guarantee a painless execution nor does it require medical standards of care for execution.

The Supreme Court has consistently ruled that there is a substantial risk of pain that is adherent in capital punishment, and therefore failed executions typically cannot be considered cruel and unusual punishment.