Injections and gas – how death-row inmates are executed in the US

 

Malin Carlsson/TT

 

Published 2, 2026, 19:16 | Update2, 2026, 20:1020.10

          

          An execution gurney where a death-row inmate is strapped down before receiving a lethal                          injection. File photo. Photo: Rick Bowmer/AP/TT

The botched execution of Christa Pike in Tennessee has drawn significant attention and sparked debate regarding how executions are carried out in the US.

Lethal injection is the dominant method, though execution by gas and firing squad also occurs.

Injections of the type administered to Christa Pike are the most common method for carrying out death sentences in the US. All 27 states that authorize the death penalty permit this method, and 39 of the 47 executions carried out last year were performed via injection.

The drug injected into Pike’s arms—pentobarbital—belongs to a class of drugs that depress the central nervous system; it is approved for uses such as the short-term treatment of insomnia and the acute treatment of certain seizure disorders.

In a federal review of pentobarbital conducted last year, experts stated that the drug can cause fluid accumulation in the lungs, potentially leading to a sensation of suffocation and causing "unnecessary pain and suffering," according to the AP. 

Firing Squad and Nitrogen

Some states have struggled to obtain the drugs needed for lethal injections, as many pharmaceutical companies do not wish to be associated with the death penalty. This is the case in South Carolina, among others; the state executed three prisoners by firing squad—whereby an execution squad shoots a condemned person—in 2025.

Firing squad is not used in Tennessee, but Christa Pike had requested to be executed by that specific method. Her request was denied, however.

Last year, five death-row inmates were executed via nitrogen gas inhalation. Nitrogen as an execution method was introduced for the first time globally in Alabama in 2024. UN experts have condemned the method as "torture."

The electric chair and hanging also remain legal methods of execution in certain states, although they are rarely used nowadays.

Two IV lines inserted

Several US states have contingency plans in case an execution goes wrong. This was the case with Christa Pike as well, though the backup plan also failed.

Death-row inmates scheduled for execution by injection are to have two intravenous lines inserted. If one fails for any reason, the execution team can use the other instead. However, intravenous lines can fail for various reasons—for instance, if the needle and catheter are not correctly placed in the vein, or if the vein ruptures and fluid leaks into the surrounding tissue instead.

In Tennessee, a second lethal dose is administered five minutes after the first if the condemned person is still alive. This was also the procedure followed in Christa Pike's case. However, when Pike was still breathing after the second lethal dose had been injected, the execution attempts were called off, and Pike was taken to a hospital for medical care instead.

Facts

The death penalty in the USA

The USA is the only Western democracy that regularly carries out the death penalty.

Twenty-seven states retain the death penalty, though four of them do not actively use it. Additionally, federal courts can impose the death penalty for certain crimes.

Twenty-three states have abolished the death penalty.

Since the USA reinstated the penalty in 1977, 1,683 people had been executed by September 29 of this year. Texas accounts for 602 of the executions carried out.

As of July 1 of this year, 1,973 prisoners were on death row. By September 29, 29 death-row inmates had been executed this year.

Source: Death Penalty Information Center (DPIC)