Christa Pike's survival after two lethal injection doses has put state execution protocols nationwide under new scrutiny.

The big picture: How prisoners are executed varies by state, with lethal injection, electrocution, lethal gas and firing squads among the methods authorized.

• Lethal injections are the most common U.S. execution method, accounting for roughly 89% of the 1,683 executions carried out since 1976, per the Death Penalty Information Center.

By the numbers: More than two dozen states have lethal injection as a primary method.

• Lethal gas is authorized in Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Oklahoma and Wyoming.

• Electrocution is allowed in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Tennessee.

• Firing squad is allowed in Idaho, Mississippi, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Utah. Idaho is the only state where it is the primary method.

Context: Some states let prisoners choose among the different execution methods.

Zoom out: The Supreme Court requires states to keep the death penalty only for the most heinous murders.

• Pike, convicted of killing a classmate three decades ago, survived two rounds of lethal injection drugs earlier this week in what would have been the first execution of a woman in Tennessee in 200 years.

• Pike was still alive as of Friday, remaining on a ventilator and unconscious, AP reports. (Source: Axios)

Story Date: October 5, 2026