A botched execution in Tennessee has prompted Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) to call for a return to the electric chair.
Christa Pike, who was convicted in 1996 of brutally murdering college classmate Colleen Slemmer, was scheduled for execution this week after the U.S. Supreme Court vacated a last-minute stay.
Strapped to a gurney, Pike was reportedly administered two lethal doses of the drug pentobarbital, yet she did not die. The convicted murderer is in “critical condition, receiving life-saving care” at a hospital.
Gov. Bill Lee (R) responded to the incident by halting all executions and ordering a third-party review of why the injections failed. This prompted Blackburn to post on X: “The answer is simple: Bring back the electric chair.”
U.S. Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.) responded, “I have a bill filed in the House.”
I have a bill filed in the House. https://t.co/fK72k29jcZ
— Tim Burchett (@timburchett) October 1, 2026
Blackburn is running for governor to replace Lee, who is term-limited, and she issued a more detailed statement online: “This situation is tragic. Christa Pike should have been executed long ago. Now, this botched process is extending the pain for the family of Colleen Slemmer. While there should be a thorough review of what happened and why the process failed, the answer is simple: bring back the electric chair and deliver justice for these victims swiftly. As your governor, I will do just that.”
WPLN health reporter Catherine Sweeney witnessed the failed execution, saying it “went really poorly.”
“They went through two rounds and she was still breathing at the end,” Sweeney reported. “It was very ragged. She lifted her head up and was looking around at one point. She said that there was a spot that was burning and hurting and asked if that was normal. None of it was normal. I covered all the executions last year, and most of the ones this year. We haven’t seen anything like it. It went really poorly.”
Gov. Lee expressed his disappointment over the tragedy in a statement.
“The people of Tennessee have determined that capital punishment is the appropriate sentence for the most heinous of crimes,” the governor said. “The people of Tennessee expect that those sentences will be carried out in a manner that is not only legal, and constitutional, but effective and that didn’t happen and I’m highly disappointed along with Tennesseans about what happened last night.”
Social media users seemed to have their own ideas on how to proceed — here’s a sampling of responses to the story, as seen on X:
And firing squads or hanging.
— Robby Starbuck (@robbystarbuck) October 1, 2026
Firing squad is the only way to go
— Tracie James (@TracieJames777) October 1, 2026
This is cheap and super effective. pic.twitter.com/6H6QJsLb2i
— arch0n42 (@Arch0n42) October 1, 2026
Bring back the chair! There’s a song for that! https://t.co/RRjb1s0k0s
— 🍒Fᵣₑd ᵣₑᵣᵤₙ Cₕₑᵣᵣy🍒 (@Counter_Coup) October 1, 2026
Electric chair? Have you seen how much electricity costs today?
Just go to a NASCAR garage and get a garage door pull. Problem solved and at minimal cost.
Bring back the noose – we know it works. pic.twitter.com/O9ZNBt3r0t
— MajorKong (@AughyX) October 1, 2026
The electric chair is a notch above injection but bullets are cheap and with multiple shooters, failsafe.
Tie them to a pole and shoot them to death.
Common sense. Good for the victims, good for the budget.@timburchett you are the last of the good ones……push it through…
— Kelly Langdon (@BloodofDLamb) October 1, 2026
firing squad is more effective, more humane, and cheaper. Electric chair isn’t 100% effective either. You know what is? A bullet. It’s never not worked in United States history. Every other method has failed a least once. Lethal Injection fails 7+% of the time.
— blake (@bbqbaseball62) October 1, 2026
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Tom Tillison grew up in Maryland before moving to Central Florida as a young teen. It is in the Sunshine State that he honed both his passion for politics and his writing skills. Tillison also contributes to BizPac Review.
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