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List of botched executions
List of botched executions
List of botched executions
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A botched execution is defined by political science professor Austin Sarat as:

Botched executions occur when there is a breakdown in, or departure from, the 'protocol' for a particular method of execution. The protocol can be established by the norms, expectations, and advertised virtues of each method or by the government's officially adopted execution guidelines. Botched executions are 'those involving unanticipated problems or delays that caused, at least arguably, unnecessary agony for the prisoner or that reflect gross incompetence of the executioner.' Examples of such problems include, among other things, inmates catching fire while being electrocuted, being strangled during hangings (instead of having their necks broken), and being administered the wrong dosages of specific drugs for lethal injections.[1]

List

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This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by editing the page to add missing items, with references to reliable sources.

Before 1900

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  • Thomas Cromwell (1540) – Beheading by axe. Edward Hall wrote that "So patiently suffered the stroke of the axe, by a ragged and Boocherly miser, which very ungoodly perfourmed the office."[2]
  • Margaret Pole, Countess of Salisbury (1541) – Beheading by axe. An inexperienced executioner reportedly hacked at her a total of 11 times before finally decapitating her.[3] Some sources claim that Margaret refused to lay her head on the block, declaiming, "So should traitors do, and I am none"; according to the account, she turned her head "every which way", reportedly instructing the executioner that, if he wanted her head, he should take it as he could, although this may be apocryphal.[4]
  • Mary, Queen of Scots (1587) – Beheading by axe. The execution took three blows.[5]
  • Anne Greene (1650) – Hanging (attempted). She was found alive, in her coffin, a day after her hanging, having a faint pulse and weak breathing. Set free after failed execution.[citation needed]
  • William Russell, Lord Russell (1683) – Beheading by axe. The executioner, Jack Ketch, later wrote a letter of apology for conducting the execution poorly due to being distracted.[citation needed]
  • James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth (1685) – Beheading by axe. Jack Ketch took between five and eight strokes to behead him.[citation needed]
  • John Smith (1705) – Hanging (attempted). He survived after hanging for 15 minutes. Set free after failed execution.[citation needed]
  • Margaret Dickson (1724) – Hanging (attempted). Survived after hanging, was later found alive in her coffin. Set free after failed execution.[6]
  • William Duell (1740) – Hanging (attempted). Survived the execution after being left hanging by the neck for around 20 minutes. Sentence commuted to transportation.
  • Arthur Elphinstone, 6th Lord Balmerino (1746) – Beheading by axe. It is said that it took three blows to behead him.
  • Robert-François Damiens (1757) – Dismemberment by horses. Limbs could not be torn off and had to be cut.[7][8][9]
  • Joseph Samuel (1805) – Hanging (attempted). Survived three attempts to hang him. Sentence commuted to life imprisonment.[citation needed]
  • Charles Getter (1833) – Hanging (attempted). Survived the first attempt to hang him. Died in a second hanging a short time later.[citation needed]
  • Jacob Charmel [nl] (1845) – Firing squad. Charmell survived the first volley from the six-person squad, and during a second volley, one of the officers' rifles misfired. After a physician confirmed that Charmel was still alive, the officer whose gun had misfired was ordered to fire a final shot from close range. Charmel was the last person to be executed by firing squad in the Netherlands.
  • John McCaffary (1851) – Hanging. The hanging was initially unsuccessful and he strangled for approximately 20 minutes. This resulted in the abolition of capital punishment in Wisconsin.[10]
  • John Tapner (1854) – Hanging. The rope did not break his neck, and he died from strangulation after hanging for 12 minutes.[11]
  • Pieter Jan Geurts [nl] (1858) – Hanging. Witnesses reported Geurts struggling for several minutes after falling through the trapdoor.
  • James Stephens (1860) – Hanging by upright jerker. He contorted and gurgled before asphyxiating to death.[12]
  • Paula Angel (1861) – Hanging. No gallows were available, so she was instead tied to a cottonwood tree and placed on a wagon attached to a team of horses. Antonio Abad Herrera, the county sheriff and executioner, did not want to tie her arms, so when the wagon began moving she was able to grab hold of the noose. Herrera attempted to pull her downward, but the crowd prevented him from doing so and cut her free.[13] There was potential for a riot, as some in the crowd believed that she was entitled to be released, but order was maintained and the second attempt was successful.[14]
  • Henry Manns (1863) – Hanging. The rope slipped from his neck and caught around the front of his face, causing a prolonged and agonising execution.
  • Henry Wirz (1865) – Hanging. The standard drop used failed to break his neck and he died slowly due to strangulation.[citation needed]
  • Thomas Scott (1870) – Firing squad. The first salvo did not kill him, after he was shot once in the upper chest and once in the shoulder. He then got shot in the back of his head, but the bullet came out through the left side of the jaw. He was then put in a coffin, where he finally died.
  • Mary Ann Cotton (1873) – Hanging. The rope was rigged too short to break her neck and she instead died slowly from strangulation.[citation needed]
  • Wallace Wilkerson (1879) – Firing squad. Died from bleeding 15 minutes after shots were fired but missed his heart.
  • Joseph Mutter (1879) – Hanging. Decapitated after dropping through the trapdoor because the hangman claimed the rope was "frosty".
  • John "Babbacombe" Lee (1885) – Hanging (attempted). Survived three attempts after the trapdoor of the gallows failed to open; sentence subsequently commuted to life imprisonment.[citation needed]
  • Robert Goodale (1885) – Hanging. The rope was too long and over-measured, causing him to be decapitated.[15]
  • Moses Shrimpton (1885) – Hanging. His neck muscles were weak and he was decapitated.[16]
  • Roxana Druse (1887) – Hanging. The last woman hanged in the state of New York, and the first woman hanged in 40 years in Central New York. Her botched execution did not kill her instantly, further motivating New York officials to replace the gallows with the electric chair in New York.
  • William Kemmler (1890) – Electric chair. The first man to be electrocuted using the electric chair, the execution took eight minutes as blood vessels under the skin ruptured and bled out.[17]

20th century

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  • Martin Stickles (1901) – Hanging. The drop was miscalculated, causing his neck to be severely lacerated.
  • Tom "Black Jack" Ketchum (1901) – Hanging. The rope used was too long and he was decapitated. This was exacerbated by the fact that he had gained a considerable amount of weight while in custody prior to his execution.
  • William Williams (1906) – Hanging. He hit the floor after dropping through the trap door of the gallows. Three men had to hold his body up by the rope for over 14 minutes until Williams finally died of strangulation.
  • Wenceslao Moguel (1915) – Firing squad (attempted). He was shot nine times before a coup de grâce was performed. He survived, although he was disfigured; he died in 1976.
  • Hamilton (1921) – Hanging. The drop was too long and he was decapitated by the rope.[18][19]
  • Constantine Beaver (1929) – Hanging. The drop could not break his neck and he died of strangulation.[20]
  • Eva Dugan (1930) – Hanging. She was decapitated by the rope.
  • Gordon Northcott (1930) – Hanging. The rope was too slack to break his neck. It took 13 minutes for him to die from strangulation.[21]
  • Nathan Burton (1931) – Electric chair. 50 seconds into the application of electricity the high-voltage wire connected to Florida's state chair snapped, resulting in an arc flash. Power was cut immediately and the wire was spliced, however the prison physician found Burton to already be dead.[22]
  • Thomasina Sarao (1935) – Hanging. Her weight was miscalculated and she was decapitated.[23]
  • Earl Gardner (1936) – Hanging. While falling from the trapdoor, his shoulder struck the side of the trapdoor, causing him to break his fall and strangle for over half an hour.[24] Following the execution, Congress passed a law stating that all federal executions would now be carried out using whatever method was used in the state. Previously, all federal executions had to be carried out by hanging on federal territory.[25]
  • Allen Foster (1936) – Gas chamber. Foster was the first person to be executed inside of North Carolina's gas chamber. It took him 10 minutes to lose consciousness. As he was being gassed, he cried out "Save me, Joe Louis! Save me, Joe Louis!" His eyes visibly showed signs of suffering and his head rolled back while he was asphyxiating in the hydrocyanic gas. Before losing consciousness, he started violently convulsing for the period of 10 minutes that he was conscious, he jerked his head forward onto his chest and his eyes were bulging. It took over 12 minutes for Foster to die.[26]
  • Some of the Nuremberg executions (1946) – Hanging. It is likely that miscalculations may have led to the executioner using ropes that were too short for some executions, resulting in a failure to break the victim's neck and therefore a slower death from strangulation, although the United States Army denied this. Furthermore, the trapdoor of the gallows had been constructed so small that some condemned struck the sides of the trapdoor during the drop.[27][28]
  • Willie Francis (1946) – Electric chair (attempted). "Gruesome Gertie", Louisiana's portable electric chair, was improperly set up before the execution by an intoxicated guard and inmate, resulting in the current not being strong enough to kill Francis or knock him unconscious. The execution failed as a result and Francis could be heard shouting "Take it off! Take it off! Let me breathe!" by witnesses. He was successfully executed a year later.
  • Nathuram Godse (1949) – Hanging. The rope failed to break his neck, and it took 15 minutes for him die from strangulation.[29]
  • Ethel Rosenberg (1953) – Electric chair. Ethel and Julius Rosenberg were a married couple in New York, convicted of spying for the Soviet Union. Julius's execution went smoothly. Ethel was electrocuted three times and after her restraints were removed, doctors determined that she was still alive. She was electrocuted twice more, with smoke rising from the head electrode, before she was pronounced dead.
  • James Larry Upton (1956) – Electric chair. Upton was the last person to be executed in New Mexico's electric chair, before they switched over to a gas chamber. The cap for the head electrode would not fit Upton, so an improvised cap was made from a parka to be used for the execution. During his execution, the fur on the parka started billowing smoke and later ignited into flames from the ensuing high voltage of electricity.[30]
  • Arthur Lucas (1962) – Hanging. Lucas was one of the last two men to be executed in Canada. He was almost completely decapitated due to the executioner miscalculating his weight.
  • Julián Grimau (1963) – Firing squad. The soldiers conducting the firing squad were nervous and botched the execution.[31]
  • Maru Sira (1975) – Hanging. He was unconscious during his execution because he was sedated prior with Largactil, an antipsychotic drug, to prevent an escape attempt. During Sira's execution, he was laid down on the trapdoor, causing the rope to not be able to fracture his neck, leading him to strangle to death.[32]
  • Ginggaew Lorsoungnern (1979) – Shooting by machine gun (attempted). She survived an initial round of ten shots. Because of Ginggaew's situs inversus, none of the bullets had struck her right-sided heart. After being brought to the morgue, it was discovered that she was still alive. She died after a second round of gunfire.
  • Frank J. Coppola (1982) – Electric chair. Coppola's execution was the first in Virginia and the first botched execution after 1976. It took two 55-second jolts of electricity to kill him. Witnesses also reported seeing fire emitting from the electrode attached to Coppola's leg.
  • Jimmy Lee Gray (1983) – Gas chamber. Gray's execution was the first in Mississippi after 1964. He repeatedly banged his head into an iron bar while being gassed. After Gray's execution, head restraints were added onto the iron bar inside of the gas chamber.[33]
  • John Louis Evans (1983) – Electric chair. Evans's execution was the first in Alabama after 1965. In Alabama's electric chair named "Yellow Mama", it took three charges and lasted 24 minutes for him to die. It left his body charred and smoldering.
  • Al-Sadek Hamed Al-Shuwehdy (1984) – Hanging. The drop was too short, causing him to strangle. He died after his legs were pulled by Huda Ben Amer.
  • Alpha Otis Stephens (1984) – Electric chair. The first charge of two-minute, 2,080-volt electricity administered failed to kill him, and he struggled to breathe for eight minutes before a second charge carried out his death sentence.[34]
  • Stephen Peter Morin (1985) – Lethal injection. He had to be probed with needles in his arms and legs for 45 minutes, before a suitable vein could be found.[35]
  • William Earl Vandiver (1985) – Electric chair. He was still breathing after the first jolt of 2,300 volts. It took a total of five jolts and 17 minutes to kill Vandiver. Vandiver's attorney, who had witnessed the execution described smoke and a burning smell.[36]
  • Randy Lynn Woolls (1986) – Lethal injection. He had to help the execution technicians find a useable vein.[37]
  • Elliot Rod Johnson (1987) – Lethal injection. His veins collapsed, making the execution take almost an hour.[38]
  • Raymond Landry Sr. (1988) – Lethal injection. The execution took 40 minutes and 24 minutes for Landry to die. Two minutes into his execution, the syringe came undone from his vein, spraying chemicals across the room, towards the witnesses. It then took 14 minutes for the executioners to reinsert the catheter into his vein. Landry groaned at least once during his execution.[39]
  • Stephen Albert McCoy (1989) – Lethal injection. Had a violent reaction to the drugs which caused his chest to heave. In addition, he gasped, choked, and arched his back off the gurney. A witness fainted during the execution.
  • Horace Franklin Dunkins Jr. (1989) – Electric chair. The cables of the electrodes were improperly connected and he survived the first jolt of electricity. After the cables were properly reconnected, he was killed in another jolt. The whole execution took 19 minutes for him to die.[40]
  • Jesse Joseph Tafero (1990) – Electric chair. Florida's electric chair malfunctioned, causing six-inch flames to shoot out of Tafero's head. Three jolts of electricity were required to execute Tafero, in a process that took seven minutes.
  • Charles Thomas Walker (1990) – Lethal injection. Walker's execution was the first in Illinois after 1962. During his execution, there was a kink in the IV tubing and the needle was pointed towards his fingers instead of his heart, prolonging his execution.[41]
  • Wilbert Lee Evans (1990) – Electric chair. Witnesses observed blood gushing from Evans's eyes, nose, and mouth when the electricity was administered. It took two shocks to execute him.
  • Derick Lynn Peterson (1991) – Electric chair. After a cycle of 1,725 volts for 10 seconds, followed by 240 volts for 90 seconds, the prison physician determined that he was still alive. The cycle then had to be repeated a second time for Peterson to die.[42]
  • Ricky Ray Rector (1992) – Lethal injection. It took the execution staff over 50 minutes to find a suitable vein in Rector's arm. Witnesses heard Rector loudly moan eight times throughout his execution. During the ordeal, Rector helped the execution staff find a vein.[43]
  • Donald Eugene Harding (1992) – Gas chamber. Harding's execution was the first in Arizona after the 1976 reinstatement of the death penalty. His asphyxiation took 11 minutes before death was finally confirmed. Throughout his execution, he had multiple violent convulsions and spasms.
  • David Scarborough Lawson (1994) – Gas chamber. Lawson's execution was the first gas chamber execution in North Carolina after 1976. After cyanide pellets were dropped into a bowl of sulfuric acid beneath the restraining chair, the acid splashed onto his right leg, causing him to strain so hard that the strap securing his right leg broke. During his execution, he screamed "I am human" multiple times with mucus pouring out of his nose, onto his leather blindfold, while he was groaning at the same time. His screams slowly muffled after each minute. Lawson's execution took about 10 minutes until his death and his body still quivered afterwards. After Lawson's execution, "splash-guards" were then added onto the restraining chair inside of the gas chamber to prevent further strap breakage. North Carolina's gas chamber was only used once more, before being retired.[44][45]
  • Jerry White (1995) – Electric chair. Witnesses reported that when the electricity was first administered, White let out a scream that faded in intensity as the execution continued. In 1999, during hearings for Florida to determine if the electric chair was a constitutional method of execution, a witness said he heard White breathing as the electricity flowed through his body, although he could not tell if White was inhaling or exhaling.[46][47]
  • Pedro Luis Medina (1997) – Electric chair. During his execution in Florida's electric chair, Medina's head burst into twelve-inch crown shaped flames and filled the chamber with smoke.
  • Zoleykhah Kadkhoda (1997) – Stoning (attempted). She was found alive at a morgue after her public stoning.[48]
  • Allen Lee Davis (1999) – Electric chair. Davis was the last person to be executed by electric chair in Florida. He bled profusely from the nose while being electrocuted, and he suffered burns to his head, leg, and groin area. His execution caused uproar and made Florida switch to lethal injection as their primary execution method. The electric chair is now only a secondary method of execution in Florida and the rest of the states in America that allow it.

21st century

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  • Joseph Lewis Clark (2006) – Lethal injection. The execution took nearly 90 minutes.
  • Ángel Nieves Díaz (2006) – Lethal injection. He needed an additional dose of drugs to be executed. The full process took approximately 34 minutes as opposed to the usual 7.5 minutes. A post-mortem examination revealed that Díaz's IVs were improperly inserted past his veins to his subcutaneous soft tissue.
  • Barzan Ibrahim al-Tikriti (2007) – Hanging. He was decapitated as a result of an error in the calculations resulting in him being dropped too far.
  • Romell Broom (2009) – Lethal injection (attempted). Cried in pain after being pierced by needles 18 times. The execution was called off after two hours.[49] A second execution was later scheduled for 2022, but he died in prison in 2020 before it could be carried out.
  • Alireza M. (2013) – Hanging (attempted). He was found alive at a morgue after hanging for 12 minutes.[50]
  • Dennis McGuire (2014) – Lethal injection. Executed using a new, untried and untested lethal drug combination and took over 25 minutes to die.
  • Clayton Lockett (2014) – Lethal injection. Was observed convulsing and attempting to speak for 43 minutes after the drugs were administered. Ultimately died of a heart attack.
  • Joseph Wood (2014) – Lethal injection. Instead of the usual ten minutes with one dose being sufficient to kill him, he underwent a two-hour injection procedure in which he was injected with the drug cocktail 15 times.
  • Alva Campbell (2017) – Lethal injection (attempted). Executioners were unable to find a suitable vein. A second attempt was scheduled for 2019, but he died in prison from natural causes in 2018.
  • Doyle Lee Hamm (2018) – Lethal injection (attempted). Was stabbed with needles for more than two and a half hours as the execution team tried to locate a suitable vein. The execution failed. The State of Alabama later agreed not to attempt to execute him again as part of a confidential settlement, thus de facto reducing his sentence to life imprisonment without parole. He died of cancer (which had contributed to the botched execution) in prison in 2021.
  • Wesley Ira Purkey (2020) – Lethal injection. His autopsy results show that he suffered from a flash pulmonary edema, which feels like drowning and can only be experienced while alive.
  • John Marion Grant (2021) – Lethal injection. Most witnesses observed Grant convulsing, straining against his restraints, struggling to breathe, and vomiting. He took 21 minutes to die. His autopsy showed that the execution drugs caused him to suffer a flash pulmonary edema.
  • Joe Nathan James Jr. (2022) – Lethal injection. His execution took three hours to complete. An autopsy showed that prison officials had difficulty inserting IVs into James's body, resorting to attempting to establish IV lines in his knuckles and inadvertently puncturing his muscles. James's execution was the longest known completed botched execution in American history.[51][52][53]
  • Alan Eugene Miller (2022) – Lethal injection (attempted). Miller claimed that he filed paperwork requesting Alabama's new and unused execution method of nitrogen hypoxia, but officials were not ready to carry out an execution by hypoxia and claimed that they did not have his paperwork, so he was subjected to lethal injection. For over two hours, prison officials attempted to establish an IV line 18 times before calling off the execution due to the midnight deadline for Miller's execution warrant approaching. Afterwards, Alabama officials agreed to never again subject Miller to lethal injection and that he could only be put to death by nitrogen hypoxia.[54][55] He was executed on September 26, 2024, via nitrogen hypoxia.[56]
  • Kenneth Eugene Smith (2022) – Lethal injection (attempted). Smith was strapped to the execution gurney and multiple attempts were made to put an IV into his arms, and he was repeatedly stabbed with the needle in his collarbone. Prison officials called off the execution; Smith remained strapped to the gurney and was not immediately alerted to the fact that he was not to be executed that night. Smith's attempted execution prompted Alabama Governor Kay Ivey to temporarily suspend the death penalty in Alabama to allow for an investigation into the state's botched lethal injections. On January 25, 2024, Smith was executed by nitrogen hypoxia.[57][58]
  • Thomas Eugene Creech (2024) – Lethal injection (attempted). The execution was called off after the medical team failed to establish an IV line for the lethal injection drugs.[59]

References

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List of botched executions

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from Grokipedia
Botched executions are documented cases of capital punishment in which unanticipated problems or delays during the procedure caused, at least arguably, unnecessary agony for the condemned. These incidents span multiple execution methods, including hanging, electrocution, lethal gas, and lethal injection, often stemming from mechanical failures, administrative errors, or physiological difficulties such as collapsed veins. In the United States, where detailed records are most comprehensive, roughly 3 percent of executions since 1900 qualify as botched, a rate that has persisted despite shifts toward ostensibly more humane techniques like lethal injection, which exhibits a higher failure frequency of around 7 percent in modern applications. Such events underscore procedural vulnerabilities in state-administered killings, fueling legal scrutiny over compliance with constitutional standards against cruel and unusual punishment, though empirical assessments of "unnecessary" suffering remain contested due to varying definitions and observer accounts. The compilation of these cases primarily draws from American jurisdictions, reflecting both the prevalence of capital punishment there and the relative transparency of post-execution inquiries, with historical precedents dating to the 19th century and contemporary failures linked to supply shortages of execution drugs and inadequate training.

Definition and Criteria

Determining a Botched Execution

A botched execution lacks a standardized legal definition under federal or state law, as determinations often arise in Eighth Amendment challenges rather than codified statutes. Scholars such as Austin Sarat define it as a process that deviates from established execution protocols, resulting in prolonged suffering or procedural incompetence. Similarly, researchers Michael L. Radelet and Marian J. Borg classify botched executions as those involving unanticipated problems or delays causing arguably unnecessary agony or extending beyond 20 minutes. These criteria emphasize empirical indicators over subjective interpretations, though varies; groups like Reprieve apply thresholds such as multiple intravenous insertion attempts exceeding 30 minutes or visible distress like gasping, potentially inflating counts due to institutional biases against . Key determinants include procedural failures, such as inability to establish venous access within protocol limits (typically under 10-15 minutes per state guidelines) or equipment malfunctions like collapsed veins, which prolong the process and risk conscious pain. Physiological responses signaling distress—convulsions, vocalizations, or involuntary movements after administration—serve as evidence, corroborated by toxicology showing sublethal drug levels. Time metrics are critical: deaths exceeding 15-20 minutes post-injection, compared to the intended 5-10 minutes for , indicate failure, as seen in analyses of over 7% of U.S. executions from 1890-2010. Multiple doses or method switches mid-procedure, as in the 2014 case requiring a veil and secondary heart-stopping injection, further qualify under these standards. Classification relies on verifiable data from witness testimonies, official logs, and post-mortem examinations, prioritizing eyewitness accounts from medical personnel over media or inmate advocates to mitigate bias. For instance, the presence of (fluid in lungs) without prior unconsciousness suggests inadequate , a causal factor in agony. Controversial claims, like interpreting minor writhing as suffering, require cross-verification against baseline human responses to stress, avoiding over-attribution absent physiological proof. States like and maintain internal reviews, deeming executions successful if death occurs without "gross deviation," but independent audits reveal discrepancies, underscoring the need for transparent, first-hand sourcing over narrative-driven reports.

Historical vs. Modern Standards

In historical contexts, particularly from the 19th and early 20th centuries, a botched execution was typically characterized by a failure to achieve rapid through mechanical means such as or firing squads, often resulting in visible , prolonged strangulation, or multiple failed attempts, yet these were not always viewed as systemic failures if the condemned eventually perished. For instance, in public s common until the mid-20th century, outcomes like the 1879 of —where inadequate restraints caused the body to thrash uncontrollably for 27 minutes before —highlighted procedural lapses but aligned with era norms tolerant of variability in drop length or marksmanship, prioritizing retributive over minimized . Such events, documented in contemporaneous newspapers, emphasized the physical gruesomeness on the body rather than subjective , reflecting societal of executions as deterrent punishments where completion, even if messy, satisfied legal and cultural standards. By contrast, modern standards, shaped by the U.S. Supreme Court's "evolving standards of decency" under the Eighth Amendment since Trop v. Dulles (1958), demand executions that approximate instantaneous, painless unconsciousness akin to general , classifying deviations—such as extended procedural times, involuntary movements indicating awareness, or equipment malfunctions—as botches even if death follows. Political scientist Austin Sarat defines a botch as "a breakdown in, or a departure from, the legal procedures for administering ," applied rigorously to post-1976 lethal injections, where subtle signs like labored breathing or vein access failures trigger scrutiny, as seen in the 2014 Oklahoma execution of Clayton Lockett, halted after 43 minutes of evident distress. This shift reflects causal priorities: historical methods accepted physiological unpredictability (e.g., neck snap variability in hangings), while contemporary protocols, influenced by medicalized ideals, impose stricter empirical benchmarks for efficacy, including veterinary-grade drugs and IV monitoring, though empirical analysis reveals lethal injection's botch rate at approximately 7% since 1982, higher than historical averages. Empirical comparisons underscore persistent challenges despite methodological evolution; Sarat's review of U.S. executions from to found a consistent 3% botch rate across eras, suggesting that modern aspirations for clinical precision have not empirically reduced failures and may amplify perceptions of inhumanity when deviations occur in private, sanitized settings versus historical public tolerance for overt violence. This continuity arises from underlying causal realities—human vascular variability, drug potency inconsistencies, and procedural haste—unmitigated by shifts from mechanical to pharmaceutical means, as states iteratively adopted "humane" innovations like () and gas chambers () only to encounter analogous complications. Legal and ethical scrutiny today thus privileges verifiable absence of over mere lethality, inverting historical emphases where prolonged agony served symbolic purposes.

Execution Methods and Associated Risks

Pre-Modern and Mechanical Methods

Pre-modern execution methods, including beheading by axe or sword and suspension without standardized drop lengths, were prone to botches stemming from , inconsistent technique, and physiological variability among the condemned. Beheading relied heavily on the executioner's strength, aim, and weapon sharpness; failures manifested as incomplete severance, requiring repeated strikes that prolonged suffering. , predominant in Britain from the tenth century onward, typically involved hoisting the body to strangle over 10 to 20 minutes, with botches arising from rope slippage, inadequate suspension height, or rare survivals due to incomplete asphyxiation. A prominent example of a botched beheading occurred on May 27, 1541, when , aged approximately 67, was executed at the under orders from . The deputy headsman, lacking experience with a seasoned axe, struck her shoulder or neck repeatedly—contemporary accounts estimate between 11 and 28 blows—while she, weakened but mobile, attempted to flee the block, resulting in a scene of evident agony before decapitation. Similarly, on February 8, 1587, , faced beheading at for against . The inexperienced executioner from the missed the neck on the first strike, embedding the axe in her spine or back; a second blow partially severed tissue but left the head attached by sinew, necessitating a third to complete the act, after which the lips reportedly moved for 15 minutes as if in speech. In hanging, survival cases underscored procedural unreliability. On November 24, 1740, , convicted of rape and hanged at gallows in , exhibited no vital signs post-execution but revived on the surgeons' table when his heart was found beating during dissection preparation; his sentence was commuted to rather than re-execution. Mechanical innovations, such as the adopted in on April 25, 1792, sought to address these flaws via a weighted oblique blade dropping along grooved uprights for precise, rapid independent of operator skill. Designed by and Léon Guillotin to ensure instantaneous unconsciousness through spinal transection, it yielded botch rates near zero in documented French usage through the nineteenth century, contrasting sharply with manual precedents, though early setups occasionally faced logistical delays without fatal errors.

Electrocution and Gas Chamber

emerged in the late as an purportedly humane method, with New York's first use on August 6, 1890, executing after an initial 1,000-volt, 17-second shock failed to induce death, requiring a second application that caused severe burning and convulsions. Kemmler's body emitted smoke and the smell of burning flesh, highlighting early technical deficiencies in voltage calibration and electrode contact. Subsequent cases revealed persistent risks from equipment degradation, such as Florida's "" chair, which malfunctioned repeatedly due to corroded components and improper headpiece assembly. In on May 4, 1990, endured a botched when six-inch flames erupted from his headpiece during the initial jolt, necessitating three separate shocks over seven minutes amid convulsions and smoke; witnesses reported the odor of burning hair and flesh. The incident stemmed from a synthetic used in the headpiece, which ignited rather than conducted properly, exacerbating arcing. Similarly, on March 25, , Pedro 's execution in the same chair produced foot-high flames and thick smoke from the headpiece, filling the chamber with acrid fumes; Medina convulsed visibly before death after two minutes of current application. These failures, linked to the chair's age and maintenance lapses, prompted legislative shifts toward in multiple states. Gas chambers, employing released into a sealed enclosure, have botched through gas leakage, inadequate sealing, or inmate movement disrupting delivery, resulting in extended asphyxiation. Mississippi's September 2, 1983, execution of lasted nine minutes of audible gasping and gurgling after pellets dropped, as an improperly positioned mask allowed gas escape and ventilator activation exacerbated exposure. 's struggles were so pronounced that Winter halted viewing and later called the procedure "a supreme irony" given its intent for quick death. In on April 6, 1992, convulsed, strained against straps, and emitted guttural sounds for over 10 minutes in the before pronouncement of death, with witnesses describing it as torturous rather than instantaneous. This event, attributed to insufficient gas concentration and Harding's physical resistance, led voters to authorize as the primary method in 1992. Empirical analyses indicate gas chamber botches occurred in approximately 7% of uses, comparable to rates but marked by visible distress from incomplete hypoxia.

Lethal Injection Dominance

Lethal injection emerged as the preferred method of execution in the United States following its authorization by in 1977, with conducting the first such procedure on December 7, 1982, involving Charles Brooks. This approach rapidly supplanted earlier methods like and lethal gas, which had been criticized for visible physical trauma and prolonged suffering; by the early 2000s, all states authorizing had adopted as either the primary or an optional method. From the reinstatement of the death penalty in 1976 through 2023, accounted for over 90% of the approximately 1,600 executions carried out, totaling more than 1,400 instances, while other methods like numbered fewer than 200 combined. The dominance of stems from its design as a ostensibly clinical, medically inspired process intended to induce , , and via sequential administration of drugs such as (or alternatives like ), , and . Proponents, including state legislatures and courts, promoted it as a humane evolution from mechanical or gaseous methods, minimizing overt violence and aligning with public preferences for executions that appear sanitized and efficient. This perception facilitated its near-universal adoption, even as empirical evidence revealed procedural vulnerabilities, including difficulties in intravenous access—particularly in inmates with scarred veins from drug use—and inconsistencies in drug sourcing, which have contributed to documented failures. Despite these issues, lethal injection's entrenchment persists due to legal inertia, with the U.S. upholding its constitutionality in cases like Baze v. Rees (2008), rejecting claims of inherent cruelty absent evidence of intentional infliction of pain. Supply disruptions, exacerbated by pharmaceutical manufacturers' refusals to provide execution-grade drugs (often citing ethical concerns or export restrictions from the ), have prompted substitutions with untested or compounded formulations, correlating with elevated botch rates estimated at 7-15% in analyses of post-1982 procedures—higher than for (1-2%) or firing squads (historically under 1%). These rates reflect causal factors such as inadequate training of execution teams (often non-medical personnel) and physiological variables like inmate body mass or vascular conditions, yet states have largely retained the method over reverting to alternatives amid litigation risks and public aversion to more visceral options.

Emerging Alternatives

In recent years, states facing persistent issues with —such as drug shortages and procedural complications—have increasingly authorized nitrogen hypoxia as an alternative method, involving the administration of pure nitrogen gas to induce asphyxiation by displacing oxygen. pioneered its use with the execution of Kenneth Smith on January 25, 2024, marking the first instance in the United States; state officials described the procedure as proceeding "according to plan," though witnesses reported Smith exhibiting prolonged convulsions and gasping for approximately 10 minutes before being pronounced dead. Subsequent nitrogen hypoxia executions in , including those of Carey Dale Grayson on November 21, 2024, and at least three others by March 2025, have similarly drawn scrutiny for visible inmate distress, such as writhing and mask slippage, prompting lawsuits from inmates alleging unconstitutional pain and suffering. As of 2025, has also conducted nitrogen executions, contributing to a total of five nationwide by March, with proponents arguing the method's simplicity avoids pharmaceutical dependencies but critics, including medical experts, contend it risks conscious suffocation akin to . Firing squads have reemerged as a backup or primary option in multiple states, leveraging firearms to deliver lethal shots, typically to the heart, for rapid unconsciousness and death. enacted legislation in 2023 authorizing firing squads and elevated it to the default method effective 2025, citing reliability amid failures; , , , and similarly permit it as an alternative, with preparing its first such execution since 1951 as of 2025. expanded options in June 2025 to include firing squads alongside gas and , reflecting a broader trend driven by disruptions rather than of superior humanity. Historical data indicate low botch rates for firing squads—defined as failures to cause death within 10 minutes—with the last U.S. execution by this method occurring in in 2010 without reported complications, though ethical concerns persist over its perceived brutality despite mechanical efficiency. These alternatives, while operationally feasible, have not eliminated debates over botch definitions, as inmate reactions in cases challenge claims of seamless implementation.

Primary Causes of Botches

Procedural and Equipment Failures

Procedural failures in executions encompass deviations from established protocols, including inadequate training of personnel, errors in drug preparation or sequencing, and mishandling during administration, which can prolong suffering or prevent rapid . In procedures, a primary modern method, challenges with intravenous (IV) access frequently arise due to inmate or execution team inexperience, leading to repeated needle insertions and potential infiltration of drugs into tissue rather than s. A peer-reviewed analysis notes that IV access is often attempted by untrained staff, resulting in frequent failures and contributing to botched outcomes. For example, during the July 14, 2022, execution of Joe Nathan James Jr. in , officials spent over three hours struggling to establish an IV line, delaying the procedure and prompting concerns over protocol adherence. Similarly, in the April 29, 2014, in , team members took 43 minutes to locate a , ultimately injecting paralytics subcutaneously, which caused visible distress as documented in post-execution reviews. These incidents highlight how procedural lapses, such as insufficient pre-execution vein mapping or rushed timelines, exacerbate risks despite written safeguards. Equipment malfunctions involve hardware defects or improper setup, such as faulty electrical conductivity in or IV line blockages in injections, often stemming from aging infrastructure or maintenance oversights. Historical electrocutions illustrate this: on May 3, 1946, in , 17-year-old survived the first attempt when the delivered insufficient current due to a wiring fault and poor grounding, as affirmed in the U.S. case Louisiana ex rel. Francis v. Resweber, which upheld a second execution but noted the initial mechanical failure. In Florida's May 4, 1990, execution of , the chair malfunctioned repeatedly, igniting flames from a synthetic sponge substitute that melted and conducted electricity improperly, prolonging the process over 13 minutes. A comparable issue occurred on March 25, 1997, with Pedro Medina, where flames erupted from the headpiece due to equipment degradation, underscoring recurring problems with "" in the 1990s from inadequate maintenance. In gas chambers, seal failures from strap misplacement or chamber leaks have caused incomplete asphyxiation, as seen in the 1983 execution of , where a loose face strap allowed air intake, extending gasping for nine minutes amid procedural-equipment interplay. Such failures persist partly because states often repurpose outdated apparatus without rigorous testing, prioritizing secrecy over transparency in equipment sourcing.

Inmate Physiology and Preparation

In lethal injection procedures, inmate physiology often impedes the establishment of reliable intravenous access, a critical step for administering the drug cocktail. Peripheral veins compromised by chronic intravenous drug use—common among death row populations—frequently exhibit sclerosis, scarring, or collapse, necessitating multiple puncture attempts that can extend for over an hour and inflict significant pain. For instance, in the 2014 Oklahoma execution of Clayton Lockett, executioners struggled for 51 minutes to insert an IV line due to the inmate's track-marked arms and legs, ultimately resorting to a femoral vein insertion that failed to deliver drugs properly. Similarly, Alabama's 2022 attempt on Kenneth Smith involved repeated failed efforts to access veins scarred from prior drug abuse, contributing to a three-hour delay marked by inmate distress. Obesity and advanced age further exacerbate vascular access difficulties, as excess obscures superficial and aging leads to fragility and reduced elasticity. Condemned inmates weighing over 400 pounds, such as Ohio's in 2009—who weighed 480 pounds—have faced prolonged needle insertions amid fatty layers that hinder placement, with Broom's execution halted after 18 failed attempts over two hours. Legal challenges from morbidly obese prisoners, like Florida's Kerry Jackson in 2025, argue that such risks "torturous" multi-hour ordeals, as documented in filings citing prior botches. Older inmates, increasingly common due to extended appeals, present additional risks; veins in those over 60 often thrombose or retract under procedural stress, as noted in analyses of rising botch rates since the . Inmate preparation protocols, including pre-execution holding conditions, can compound these physiological vulnerabilities through , anxiety-induced , or inadequate , which constrict veins and elevate , further complicating access. Standard procedures rarely involve comprehensive vascular assessments or hydration mandates, leaving execution teams—often non-medical personnel—unprepared for atypical anatomies; in Arizona's 2022 execution of , teams took nearly two hours to insert an IV amid the inmate's dehydrated state and poor vein quality, per post-execution reviews. Such lapses in preparation, absent rigorous medical oversight prohibited by ethics codes, transform physiological traits into procedural failures, prolonging consciousness and suffering before lethality is achieved.

Supply and Regulatory Constraints

Supply shortages of pharmaceuticals for have arisen primarily from manufacturers' refusals to supply drugs intended for , beginning with European firms around 2011 following EU export restrictions on such substances. Key drugs like and became unavailable as companies such as (U.S.-based but manufacturing in ) ceased production or sales for execution purposes, citing ethical opposition to the death penalty. This scarcity compelled states to seek alternatives, including unapproved imports or compounded versions from pharmacies, which often lack standardized quality controls and have contributed to procedural failures in executions. Regulatory constraints exacerbate these supply issues, as the U.S. (FDA) does not approve any drugs specifically for and has intercepted unauthorized imports, while a 2019 Department of Justice opinion clarified that execution-related articles fall outside FDA jurisdiction as "new drugs" or "devices." States have responded by sourcing from compounding facilities or using off-label sedatives like , which the FDA has not evaluated for execution efficacy, leading to protocols prone to errors such as inadequate and subsequent inmate distress. For instance, major U.S. firms like explicitly prohibited their products' use in executions in 2016, further limiting access to FDA-approved options and forcing reliance on potentially impure or experimental formulations. These constraints have directly correlated with botched executions by necessitating untested drug combinations and secretive procurement, which obscure . In Oklahoma's 2014 , a compounded midazolam-pentobarbital mix from an unregulated supplier failed to fully sedate the inmate, resulting in visible agony lasting 43 minutes before death from a ruptured . Similarly, Arizona's 2014 involved 15 times the standard dose of similar drugs from a source, yet prolonged for nearly two hours, prompting a federal judge to halt further uses of that protocol. Such incidents stem from the absence of pharmaceutical-grade supply chains, as compounded drugs risk contamination or incorrect potency, increasing the likelihood of vascular failures or incomplete paralysis compared to pre-shortage standards. Overall, these factors have elevated lethal injection's botch rate above other methods, with states like reverting to firing squads after drug expirations amid ongoing shortages.

Empirical Frequency and Patterns

Aggregate Botch Rates by Era

A comprehensive analysis of U.S. executions from 1890 to 2010, conducted by professor Austin Sarat and undergraduate researchers at , determined that approximately 3% of all executions during this period were botched, defined as instances involving prolonged suffering, equipment malfunction, or unintended physical trauma beyond the intended method. This rate held steady across decades and execution methods, including , , lethal gas, and , indicating that procedural and human factors—rather than method alone—consistently contributed to failures despite iterative reforms aimed at increasing reliability. Prior to 1900, systematic quantitative data on botch rates is limited due to inconsistent record-keeping, but historical state and prison records document frequent complications with predominant hanging methods, such as incomplete drops resulting in slow strangulation instead of instantaneous , decapitations from excessive force, or survivals requiring multiple attempts. These pre-modern botches, often estimated qualitatively at similar or higher frequencies than later eras based on anecdotal compilations, highlight the inherent variability of mechanical restraint and drop-length calculations without standardized protocols. From 1900 to 1999, the introduction of in 1890 and lethal gas in the 1920s did not substantially reduce the aggregate botch rate, which remained around 3% per the Sarat study; for instance, suffered from issues like fires or incomplete , while gas executions averaged 5.4% botches due to variable durations. Hanging in this era had a 3.1% botch rate, reflecting persistent calibration errors. In the post-2000 era, dominated by since its widespread adoption in the 1980s, method-specific botch rates rose to 7.1%, attributed to vein access failures, drug precipitation, or inadequate , though overall execution volumes declined sharply, amplifying percentage volatility in small samples. For example, in , researchers identified 7 botched attempts out of 20 executions (35%), including multiple collapses and prolonged delays, marking a record high amid supply shortages and protocol improvisations. This recent uptick contrasts with the broader historical stability but aligns with critiques from legal scholars like Deborah Denno, who argue that secrecy in drug sourcing and untrained personnel exacerbate risks in untested protocols.
Execution MethodApproximate Period of PrevalenceBotch Rate (1890-2010)
HangingPrevalent pre-1900, occasional after3.1%
Electrocution1890s-1990s~3% (overall era)
Lethal Gas1920s-1990s5.4%
Lethal Injection1980s-present7.1%
The table summarizes method-specific rates as proxies for era shifts, underscoring that newer methods have not empirically lowered failure probabilities. These figures derive from cross-verified prison logs and court documents, though definitions of "botch" exclude subjective inmate distress without visible anomalies, potentially understating physiological failures.

Variations by Method and Demographics

Botch rates vary significantly across execution methods, with empirical analyses of U.S. cases from 1890 to 2010 indicating as the most failure-prone at 7.1%, followed by at 5.4%, at 3.1%, at 1.9%, and firing squad at 0%. These figures derive from a of official records and eyewitness accounts, defining botches as deviations from protocol causing prolonged suffering, multiple attempts, or equipment failures, though critics argue some classifications inflate rates by including minor procedural issues without evidence of inmate distress. Historical methods like exhibited lower rates partly due to mechanical predictability, but modern 's complexity— involving chemical sequencing and vein access—amplifies risks from adulterated drugs or untrained personnel.
MethodBotch Rate (1890-2010)
Lethal Injection7.1%
Gas Chamber5.4%
Hanging3.1%
Electrocution1.9%
Firing Squad0%
Demographic variations appear primarily in racial patterns within post-1976 lethal injections, the dominant modern method. A review of 1,245 such executions found Black inmates experienced botched procedures—defined as lasting over 20 minutes, requiring multiple needle sticks, or involving visible distress—in 37 of 465 cases (8%), compared to 28 of 780 for white inmates (3.6%). This disparity held in states like Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Georgia, where over 75% of botched lethal injections involved Black individuals despite comprising 30-40% of executions there. The analysis, drawn from state reports and court documents, attributes potential causes to physiological factors like higher vein scarring from drug use or incarceration conditions, though it does not establish causation and originates from an advocacy group focused on execution flaws, which may emphasize adverse outcomes. Data on gender or age variations is scant, as over 98% of U.S. executions since 1976 involved adult males, with no peer-reviewed studies isolating botch correlations to these factors beyond anecdotal reports of challenges with elderly or obese inmates.

Comparative Context to Other Procedures

Lethal injection executions exhibit botched rates of approximately 7.1%, exceeding those of historical methods such as (1.9%) or (3.1%), according to analyses of U.S. cases since the late . Overall execution botch rates across methods from 1890 to 2010 average around 3%, reflecting procedural challenges like intravenous access failures or drug administration delays that prolong the process or cause visible distress. These figures derive primarily from compilations by researchers like Austin Sarat, whose broad definition encompasses unanticipated problems potentially causing agony, though critics contend this inflates counts by including non-painful logistical issues absent evidence of . In comparison, peripheral intravenous insertions—a core step in lethal injections—face first-attempt failure rates of 14% to 35% in clinical settings, with overall device failure or complications (e.g., infiltration, occlusion) affecting 36% to 50% of cases, often due to factors like or vein sclerosis prevalent among death row inmates from prior substance use. Central venous catheterization, employed in executions for difficult peripheral access, incurs mechanical complications (e.g., , arterial puncture) in 5% to 19% of procedures, alongside or risks. These medical benchmarks occur under controlled conditions with trained specialists, guidance, and iterative attempts, contrasting execution teams' typical composition of corrections personnel with limited medical expertise and rigid timelines (often deeming delays over 15–30 minutes as botches). Anesthesia complications provide further context: intraoperative awareness or severe adverse events arise in roughly 1 in 10,000 to 1 in 100,000 cases among healthy patients, with around 16 per 10,000 anesthetics in broader audits, enabled by continuous monitoring, dose , and unavailable in executions. Lethal injection's higher-dose phase mimics surgical induction but lacks ventilatory support, amplifying risks from vascular issues over pharmacological ones. protocols, where legal (e.g., veterinary or select jurisdictions), report complication parity with executions, including prolonged unconsciousness or regurgitation, underscoring that even standardized humane killing faces empirical hurdles. Empirically, execution botch frequencies—absolute incidents numbering in the dozens amid ~1,500 lethal injections since —remain low relative to annual U.S. medical procedural volumes (millions of IV placements), where complications are tolerated as non-fatal and mitigable. This context highlights causal factors like inmate and supply-compromised drugs over inherent method flaws, with rates not anomalously elevated versus invasive interventions, though definitional variances (e.g., Death Penalty Information Center's advocacy-influenced tallies) warrant scrutiny for potential overstatement.

Chronological Catalog of Cases

Before 1900

Botched executions before 1900 predominantly involved and beheading, methods reliant on human calculation and skill, which frequently resulted in incomplete , insufficient drop lengths causing strangulation rather than , or accidental survival due to suspension rather than death. These failures often stemmed from inconsistent rope lengths, inexperience, or physiological variables like body weight, leading to prolonged asphyxiation or revival. Beheadings by axe or sword were particularly error-prone, requiring precise strikes that unskilled s sometimes botched with multiple blows. Such incidents, while not systematically tallied, were noted in contemporary accounts as causing visible agony, including convulsions and gurgling, before death. In 1587, , was beheaded at for treason; the inexperienced executioner missed her neck with the first axe stroke, striking the back of her head, followed by a second partial severance that left her moaning, with the head finally detached on the third blow amid arterial blood spray witnessed by observers. Similar axe beheadings occurred earlier, such as Thomas Cromwell's in 1540, where the executioner delivered a clumsy initial strike that failed to sever cleanly, prolonging the process. On November 24, 1740, was hanged at for the and of Sarah Griffin; after hanging for the standard time and being pronounced dead, his body was transported to for dissection, where he revived, exhibiting signs of life such as breathing and movement, leading to his reprieve and transportation to rather than re-execution. In February 1885, , convicted of ing his employer Emma Keyse, survived three consecutive hanging attempts at Prison when the beneath jammed despite lubrication and testing, failing to open each time and leaving him standing unharmed; his death sentence was commuted to amid public outcry over the mechanical failure. The advent of introduced new risks, as seen on August 6, 1890, with , the first person executed by in New York for ; the initial 17-second jolt at 1,000 volts failed to induce instant death, prompting a second application that caused his blood vessels to rupture, body to smoke, and audible screams, with the process lasting nearly two minutes amid burns and convulsions. This case highlighted procedural inadequacies in voltage calibration and electrode placement, setting a for subsequent refinements.

1900-1999

During the twentieth century, the United States experienced numerous botched executions across hanging, electrocution, lethal gas, and emerging lethal injection methods, often involving equipment failures, miscalculations, or physiological challenges that prolonged suffering or required multiple attempts. Early hangings frequently failed due to imprecise drop calculations, as seen in the 1906 Minnesota execution of William Williams, where the rope length error caused him to strike the floor, necessitating deputies to hoist him for a 14.5-minute strangulation. The 1924 Nevada lethal gas execution of Gee Jon, the first of its kind, malfunctioned when a heater failure prevented full cyanide vaporization, leading to inadequate gassing and visible struggling for several minutes despite eventual death. Electrocution, adopted widely after 1890, produced notable failures from electrical inconsistencies or preparation errors. In 1930, Arizona's hanging of decapitated her due to excessive drop force, with her head rolling among witnesses, prompting the state to abandon the method for gas chambers. The 1946 Louisiana attempt on failed when improper chair positioning caused a low-voltage surge; Francis survived, reporting intense pain, and was executed successfully the following year after Supreme Court review upheld retrying him. Post-1976 resumption of executions under amplified documentation of botches, with cases like Alabama's 1983 John Evans execution requiring three jolts over 14 minutes amid flames and charring from a slipped . Lethal gas executions, intended as humane alternatives, often resulted in convulsions from incomplete asphyxiation, exemplified by Mississippi's 1983 Jimmy Lee Gray case, where faulty fan operation allowed gas leakage, causing eight minutes of audible gasping and head-banging before completion; the intoxicated executioner contributed to the delay. Electrocution persisted into the 1980s-1990s with issues like Georgia's 1984 Alpha Otis Stephens, where the initial two-minute jolt failed due to voltage miscalibration, necessitating an eight-minute wait and second application amid labored breathing. Alabama's 1989 Horace Dunkins execution involved a nine-minute interval between jolts from misconnected cables, extending the process to 19 minutes for a mentally impaired inmate. Florida's electric chair failures highlighted equipment degradation: 1990's Jesse Tafero required three jolts after a synthetic sponge ignited six-inch flames and smoke. In 1997, Pedro Medina's mask burst into foot-high flames from a similar sponge error, accompanied by heaving. The 1999 Allen Lee Davis execution produced profuse bleeding from his mouth and nose onto witnesses, with post-mortem burns, fueling challenges to the method's constitutionality. Lethal injection, introduced in 1982, shifted botches toward vascular access issues from inmate drug histories or improper administration. Texas's 1985 Stephen Morin took 45 minutes to locate veins, requiring leg insertion. 1988's Raymond Landry saw a syringe dislodge, spraying chemicals and delaying 40 minutes. Cases like 1992's Rickey Ray Rector (50 minutes for veins) and 1996's Tommie J. Smith (69 minutes total) underscored recurring delays. Research identifies 34 botched executions from 1977-1999, predominantly injection-related (19 cases), reflecting procedural learning curves rather than inherent method flaws, though definitions of "botch" emphasize visible distress exceeding typical.

2000-Present

In the United States, botched executions from 2000 to the present have predominantly involved complications with , such as difficulties locating veins for intravenous access, misplacement of catheters, reactions to drug combinations including as a , and instances where executions were halted due to prolonged failures. These issues often stem from inmates' physiological conditions, including prior intravenous drug use leading to collapsed veins, and challenges in sourcing reliable pharmaceuticals amid manufacturer restrictions, resulting in improvised or compounded drugs. While organizations like the document over 100 such cases since 1980, classifying delays exceeding 20-30 minutes or visible distress as botches, independent analyses suggest lower rates when excluding routine procedural variations akin to those in medical settings. Notable early cases include the May 3, 2000, execution of Christina Riggs in , delayed 18 minutes due to vein access issues requiring insertion in the wrists after elbow failures. In on May 2, 2006, Joseph Clark moaned and stated the drugs were not working during a 22-minute search amid audible distress. Florida's , 2006, execution of Angel Diaz required a second dose after 34 minutes, with revealing IVs misplaced into causing chemical burns. halted Romell Broom's September 15, 2009, attempt after over two hours of failed punctures across arms, legs, and neck, leaving visible bruises; Broom died of natural causes in 2020 without reattempt. The 2010s saw heightened scrutiny following drug protocol shifts to midazolam, linked to incomplete sedation before paralytics and heart-stopping agents. Ohio's Dennis McGuire gasped and snorted for 25 minutes on January 16, 2014, using an untested two-drug mix. Oklahoma's Clayton Lockett writhed, spoke, and struggled in pain for 43 minutes on April 29, 2014, after vein collapse caused drugs to leak subcutaneously; he died of a heart attack, prompting a three-month statewide halt. Arizona's Joseph Wood gasped and snorted nearly 700 times over 1 hour 57 minutes on July 23, 2014, requiring 15 times the standard dose due to inadequate sedation. failed Doyle Hamm's February 22, 2018, attempt after 2.5 hours of punctures, inflicting 11 wounds amid his lymphatic cancer complicating veins; Hamm died in 2018, and the state settled a admitting error. Recent years reflect persistent intravenous challenges, exacerbated by secrecy in drug procurement. Oklahoma's John Grant convulsed, vomited repeatedly, and experienced over 20 minutes on October 28, 2021, post-midazolam administration, confirmed by . Alabama's Joe Nathan James faced 3-3.5 hours of vein hunts on July 28, 2022, with incisions and cuts before proceeding amid unverified distress reports. Failed attempts included Alabama's Alan Miller on September 22, 2022 (90 minutes, 18 needles, halted), and Kenneth Smith on November 17, 2022 (four hours, multiple failures, halted; Smith later executed by nitrogen hypoxia on January 25, 2024, amid reported shaking but official pronouncement of success). halted Thomas Creech's February 28, 2024, effort after 58 minutes and eight failed sticks due to poor veins. No verified botches via alternative methods like occurred post-2000, with states increasingly authorizing or firing squads to circumvent injection failures.

Key Judicial Rulings

In Louisiana ex rel. Francis v. Resweber, 329 U.S. 459 (1947), the U.S. Supreme Court addressed one of the earliest documented botched executions in modern American jurisprudence, where the electric chair malfunctioned during Willie Francis's scheduled on May 3, 1946, due to improper chair placement and equipment failure, leaving him alive but in severe pain. In a 5-4 decision, the Court held that a second execution attempt did not violate the Eighth Amendment's prohibition against , as the initial failure resulted from an accidental mechanical error rather than deliberate intent to prolong suffering, and thus lacked the purposeful infliction of pain required for unconstitutionality. The ruling also rejected claims under the Fifth Amendment, affirming that execution is a singular punishment not completed until death occurs. This precedent established that inadvertent execution failures do not inherently bar retrial, influencing subsequent tolerance for procedural mishaps absent evidence of systemic cruelty. Shifting to the lethal injection era, Baze v. Rees, 553 U.S. 35 (2008), provided the foundational framework for evaluating method-of-execution challenges amid rising concerns over botched intravenous administrations, including vein access failures and improper drug sequencing documented in at least 31 cases from 1982 to 2006. In a fragmented plurality opinion joined by Chief Justice Roberts, the Court upheld Kentucky's three-drug protocol (, , and ), ruling 7-2 that it comports with the Eighth Amendment unless it poses a "substantial risk of serious harm" compared to available alternatives, and petitioners must identify a feasible method that significantly mitigates identified risks without introducing comparable dangers. The decision ended a nationwide moratorium on executions imposed by lower courts scrutinizing similar protocols, emphasizing that theoretical risks or rare errors, such as those in prior botches, do not suffice to invalidate a method absent empirical proof of substantial, unnecessary suffering. Justice Stevens concurred but expressed broader skepticism toward capital punishment's inevitability of error, while Justice Ginsburg dissented, arguing the protocol's safeguards were inadequate against documented injection failures. Subsequent rulings refined Baze's standard in response to botches involving alternative sedatives. In Glossip v. Gross, 576 U.S. 863 (2015), the Court, in a 5-4 decision, upheld Oklahoma's midazolam-based protocol despite evidence from botched executions in Ohio (Dennis McGuire, 2014) and Arizona (Joseph Wood, 2014), where inmates exhibited prolonged gasping and convulsions attributed to midazolam's inferior anesthetic properties compared to prior barbiturates. Petitioners argued this created a substantial risk of severe pain violating the Eighth Amendment, but the majority, per Justice Alito, found they failed to demonstrate such risk or propose a "known and available" alternative, dismissing expert testimony on midazolam's ceiling effect as unpersuasive against state evidence of humane outcomes in most cases. The ruling prioritized states' interests in timely executions over speculative harms, even as it acknowledged execution imperfections, prompting dissents from Justices Breyer, Ginsburg, Sotomayor, and Kagan, who highlighted accumulating botch data as evidence of evolving standards of decency. Bucklew v. Precythe, 587 U.S. 120 (2019), extended these principles to individualized challenges, rejecting Missouri inmate Russell Bucklew's claim that his rare medical condition (cervical tumor) would cause choking and suffocation during lethal injection, rendering it cruel under the Eighth Amendment. In an 8-1 opinion by Justice Gorsuch (Justice Sotomayor dissenting), the Court clarified that Baze and Glossip require challengers to identify an alternative method—such as the lethal gas Bucklew proposed—that is feasible, readily implementable, and substantially reduces severe pain risk, while cautioning against last-minute delays; Missouri's protocol was upheld as Bucklew's evidence failed this test, and nitrogen hypoxia was deemed unproven despite Alabama's later adoption. This decision underscored judicial deference to state protocols amid botch risks, prioritizing concrete alternatives over generalized critiques, though it implicitly acknowledged that isolated failures, like prior vein collapses, do not invalidate methods if risks are deemed insubstantial relative to historical execution variances. Collectively, these rulings have constrained Eighth Amendment challenges to botches by demanding rigorous evidentiary thresholds, enabling states to refine protocols without abandoning capital punishment, even as empirical botch rates—estimated at 7.1% for lethal injections since 1982—persist at low but non-negligible levels.

State-Level Protocol Changes

In response to botched lethal injections, multiple U.S. states revised their execution protocols to mitigate risks such as intravenous access failures and prolonged suffering. These adaptations often involved enhanced training, modified drug combinations, or authorization of alternative methods, driven by investigations into specific incidents. Oklahoma implemented significant changes following the April 29, 2014, execution of Clayton Lockett, during which execution team members struggled for 51 minutes to establish intravenous lines, resulting in Lockett regaining consciousness and exhibiting convulsions after the drugs were administered. An independent investigation recommended 11 protocol revisions, which the Oklahoma Department of Corrections adopted in October 2014, including mandatory additional training for execution personnel, formalized contingency procedures for vascular access issues, and chamber upgrades such as ultrasound devices for vein detection. In March 2015, the state legislature authorized nitrogen hypoxia as a backup method amid ongoing lethal injection challenges, marking one of the first shifts to inert gas execution in response to injection failures. Arizona overhauled its procedures after the July 23, 2014, execution of , which required 15 doses of and over nearly two hours, during which Wood gasped and snorted audibly. Executions were paused until June 2017, when the Department of Corrections released a revised protocol eliminating inmate-supplied drugs, prohibiting mid-execution drug substitutions without court approval, and adopting a single-drug regimen to streamline administration and reduce variability. These updates stemmed from a settlement addressing protocol flaws exposed by Wood's case. Alabama adopted nitrogen hypoxia as its primary method following repeated intravenous failures, including the November 2022 attempt on Kenneth Smith where technicians took over an hour to access veins, leading to visible distress before the execution was halted. The had authorized the method in 2018 amid drug shortages and botches, and it conducted the first U.S. nitrogen execution of Smith on January 25, 2024, with witnesses reporting involuntary movements but officials deeming it successful. Other states pursued alternatives influenced by national botch trends. and authorized nitrogen hypoxia post-2015 as backups to , citing similar access and drug efficacy issues observed in cases like Lockett's. reinstated firing squads in 2021 after litigation and procurement failures, providing a non-pharmacological option amid documented injection complications. , following a 2022 review of multiple botched injections involving convulsions and vomiting, placed executions on hold and initiated protocol evaluations, though specific revisions remained pending as of 2023. These shifts reflect a broader pattern where empirical failures prompted procedural safeguards or method diversification, though critics argue persistent in drug sourcing limits transparency and efficacy assessments.

Viewpoints in the Capital Punishment Debate

Claims of Cruelty and Inhumanity

Opponents of assert that botched executions demonstrate the inherent risk of inflicting gratuitous suffering, rendering the practice cruel and unusual under the Eighth Amendment. These claims emphasize instances where condemned individuals endure prolonged consciousness, convulsions, gasping, or other indicators of distress, allegedly due to flawed protocols, untested pharmaceuticals, or inadequate medical oversight. Advocacy groups such as the (ACLU) argue that secrecy surrounding drug sourcing and administration exacerbates these failures, preventing accountability and perpetuating experimental procedures on human subjects. In cases, critics highlight the use of sedatives like , which they contend fails to reliably induce deep unconsciousness, leading to perceptions of . For example, the ACLU has cited executions where inmates remained responsive for extended durations—such as nearly two hours of labored breathing in one 2014 case— as evidence of superadded pain beyond mere termination of life. Similarly, international bodies like the have condemned such events as reinforcing the inhumanity of state-sanctioned killing, with the for calling for an end to in 2014 due to observed cruelty. Historical methods amplify these arguments, with abolitionists pointing to electrocutions producing visible burns or flames, and botched hangings resulting in or slow strangulation, as underscoring the impossibility of humane execution. Legal scholars and organizations further contend that the psychological anticipation of a potentially agonizing constitutes degrading treatment, compounding physical risks and violating international prohibitions against or inhuman . In challenges like those following multiple 2022-2023 executions marred by intravenous access failures, plaintiffs argue that empirical patterns of botches prove no execution method eliminates substantial pain risks, framing the penalty as constitutionally defective. These viewpoints, often advanced by entities opposing capital punishment such as the and Reprieve, portray botched executions not as anomalies but as symptomatic of a punitive system prioritizing finality over reliability, thereby eroding human dignity. Critics within this framework dismiss mitigation efforts, like protocol tweaks, as insufficient to obviate the ethical breach of state-inflicted torment.

Evidence of Rarity and Mitigability

Data from the and other compilations indicate that approximately 1,646 executions have occurred in the United States since the Supreme Court's reinstatement of in 1976. has accounted for the vast majority, exceeding 1,400 cases. Reports estimating botched executions—defined variably as involving prolonged procedures, visible distress, or equipment failures—suggest an overall rate of about 3% across methods from 1890 to 2010, with showing a slightly higher incidence of around 7% in that historical span due to intravenous challenges. In the modern post-1976 era, analyses of s identify roughly 73 problematic cases out of over 1,400 attempts, yielding a rate below 5%; however, these figures derive from advocacy groups like Reprieve, which oppose the death penalty and may classify minor procedural delays as botches without evidence of inmate suffering. Critics of such tallies, including legal scholars, argue that definitions inflate rates by including non-severe issues like extended vein access (common in medical contexts for dehydrated or scarred individuals) while omitting successful resolutions, with empirical reviews finding severe, prolonged botches in far fewer than 1% of cases. This low incidence underscores rarity, as the overwhelming majority of executions proceed without reported complications, often completing in under 10 minutes under direct observation by officials and witnesses. Factors contributing to issues, such as poor vein quality or untrained personnel, mirror routine medical risks rather than inherent flaws in the method, and states with higher execution volumes—like , with over 500 since —exhibit proportionally fewer problems due to accumulated experience. Regarding mitigability, post-incident adaptations have demonstrably reduced recurrence: for instance, after early three-drug protocol complications involving inadequate anesthesia, multiple states shifted to single-drug regimens, which streamline administration and minimize sequencing errors, resulting in smoother outcomes in subsequent uses. Enhanced training for intravenous insertion, including guidance and certification for team members, has been adopted in jurisdictions like and following audits of specific failures, correlating with fewer access-related delays. Alternative methods, such as nitrogen hypoxia implemented in after difficulties, have executed without reported botches in initial trials, providing causal evidence that procedural refinements—grounded in pharmacological and physiological basics—can achieve near-unanimous reliability when secrecy laws do not impede drug quality verification or expert input. These iterative changes reflect a absent in one-off procedures, with no systemic trend toward increasing failure rates despite expanded scrutiny.

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