Death penalty in the USA: “It shouldn’t be difficult,” says Trump

The failed execution of a convicted murderer in the US state of Tennessee has sparked renewed debate about the death penalty in the US. Christa Pike, sentenced to death for the murder of a schoolmate 31 years ago, was scheduled to be executed on Wednesday. Two injections using lethal syringes were planned. But she survived. Eyewitness accounts describe dramatic scenes that took place in the room.

“Nothing about today was even remotely normal,” said local journalist Tori Gessner, who attended the execution and said during a news conference that she had witnessed five executions. Pike's attorney, Randall Spivey, confirmed Thursday that his client is currently in a hospital. However, her condition remains critical. “The images from last night don’t leave me alone,” said Spivey.

US President Donald Trump also commented on the incident in Tennessee and stated that his government would not intervene in the newly reignited debate over the death penalty. “It shouldn’t be hard,” was all he said before heading off to a campaign event in Texas. Tennessee is one of 27 US states that have the death penalty. However, in four of these states - California, Ohio, Oregon and Pennsylvania - executions have been suspended until further notice.

For opponents of the death penalty, the botched execution in Tennessee is another reason for nationwide abolition. Amnesty International describes the USA as a special case in global comparison. "As the death penalty continues to decline around the world, the United States is becoming increasingly isolated. It is long past time for Tennessee and the United States to stop executing people under the guise of justice and banish this cruel punishment to the history books," said Justin Mazzola of Amnesty International USA.

Following the failed execution of Christa Pike, Tennessee's Republican Governor Bill Lee issued an order suspending all executions in the state until the end of the year. An independent investigation will clarify why the poison injections did not lead to the death of 50-year-old Pike.

It was the second botched execution in Tennessee this year. Tony Carruthers, sentenced to death for three homicides in 1994, was scheduled to be executed in May, but executioners were unable to find a vein for emergency intravenous access. A court then granted him a one-year reprieve. Democrats in Tennessee have advocated for change in recent days, but not all have gone so far as to advocate for a complete abolition of the death penalty.

"I have always opposed the death penalty. It is irreversible, applied unequally and has never made the people of Tennessee safer. But you don't have to share my view to be appalled. When the state claims the right to kill, it has a fundamental duty to act competently, transparently and humanely," said Democratic state Senator Heidi Campbell in a post on Facebook.

Republicans, on the other hand, primarily want to revise the protocol for carrying out the death penalty and consider other methods of execution. Republican U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn, who is running for governor of Tennessee, called for a return to the electric chair, which had previously been the primary method of execution in Tennessee.