In 1977 Oklahoma became the first state to adopt lethal injection, using a three-drug formula written by its medical examiner, who later said he did no research to devise it. Texas used it first, in 1982, and nearly every death-penalty state copied it, usually untested. When drug makers stopped supplying, states turned to new drugs and secrecy laws. The Supreme Court upheld it three times. The episode follows Tennessee to Tony Carruthers and Christa Pike.
Who's who
- A. Jay ChapmanOklahoma medical examiner who drafted the three-drug protocol
- Stanley DeutschUniversity of Oklahoma anesthesiology chair who endorsed the approach
- David BorenOklahoma governor who signed the lethal injection law in 1977
- Charles Brooks Jr.First person executed by lethal injection, in Texas in 1982
- Austin SaratAmherst scholar who catalogued botched executions
- Corinna Barrett LainUniversity of Richmond law professor and author on lethal injection
- Ed Stanton+1 more episodeFormer U.S. attorney who led Tennessee's 2022 review
- Christa Pike+2 more episodesSurvived two doses of pentobarbital in Tennessee in 2026
Where it happens
- Oklahoma+3 more episodesFirst state to adopt lethal injection
- Huntsville, Texas+1 more episodeSite of the first lethal injection execution, 1982
- Tennessee+2 more episodesState followed from its 2022 pause to 2026
- Kentucky+1 more episodeOrigin of the Baze v. Rees challenge
Timeline
- May 1977Oklahoma adopts lethal injection; Texas follows the next day
- December 7, 1982First lethal injection execution, in Texas
- April 16, 2008Baze v. Rees upholds Kentucky's three-drug protocol
- June 29, 2015Glossip v. Gross upholds Oklahoma's midazolam protocol 5 to 4
- April 21, 2022Tennessee halts the execution of Oscar Smith
- September 30, 2026Christa Pike survives two doses of pentobarbital
Still debated
Whether midazolam renders a prisoner unconscious is disputed between the Glossip majority and dissenters. What counts as botched is argued, since supporters say movement may be reflex. Whether shortages were engineered by pressure or by manufacturers' obligations, and why Pike survived, remain unsettled.