Tennessee Senate Candidate Proposes Return of Electric Chair After Botched Execution

U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn, a Republican candidate for Tennessee governor, has called for the reinstatement of the electric chair following the recent botched execution of Christa Pike. Pike, on death row since 1996 for the murder of her classmate Colleen Slemmer, survived two doses of lethal injection last Wednesday, leading Gov. Bill Lee to pause all remaining executions in the state.

Blackburn stated that the incident "should not be grounds to halt carrying out the death penalty," but rather an impetus to "bring back the electric chair and deliver justice for these victims swiftly." She expressed her intent to implement such changes if elected governor, asserting that the method of execution, whether lethal injection or electrocution, must be carried out successfully.

"If it’s lethal injection, if it is electric chair, what we do know is we have to find a way to do this — and do it successfully," Blackburn said, referencing other states. "You look at Florida; they’ve had 19 executions this year. Not one of them has been botched."

Pike, who was 18 at the time of the 1996 murder, was convicted of luring Slemmer to an isolated area where she was tortured and killed. Pike's crime involved the carving of a pentagram into Slemmer's chest while she was alive. Pike was sentenced to death, while her then-boyfriend, Tadaryl Shipp, who was 17 at the time, received a life sentence plus 25 years. Pike has since been diagnosed with bipolar disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder.

Under Tennessee law, inmates who committed crimes before January 1, 1999, can opt for electrocution over lethal injection by signing a waiver. Electrocution can also be used if lethal injection drugs are unavailable. Blackburn's stance contrasts with that of her Democratic opponent, Jerri Green, who has called for a moratorium on all future state executions.

Pike remains hospitalized and unconscious following the failed execution attempt. Her lawyer, Stephen Ferrell, has requested that Pike's death sentence be commuted, stating, "The least that could happen now is that we at least take death off the table and start looking for what the future could be for her."