October 1, 2026
Iowans Against the Death Penalty Statement on the Failed Execution of Christa Pike in Tennessee
DES MOINES, Iowa — Iowans Against the Death Penalty (IADP) is deeply troubled by Tennessee’s failed attempt to execute Christa Pike this week. Witnesses reported that Ms. Pike was still conscious, with an audible heartbeat, after two doses of pentobarbital. She was then taken to an outside medical facility for life-saving care. Governor Bill Lee has since paused Tennessee’s remaining executions this year while the state’s protocols are reviewed.
We grieve for Colleen Slemmer, whose life was taken in 1995, and for her family and friends, who have carried that loss for more than three decades. Taking Ms. Slemmer’s life was a grave wrong. But the scene in a Tennessee execution chamber this week does not bring justice to her family. Instead, it brings to the fore the very reasons to oppose state executions.
The first is that the death penalty does not deter crime. Decades of research have failed to show that executions make communities safer. States without the death penalty have consistently had murder rates at or below those of states that use it. Iowa abolished capital punishment in 1965, and Iowans have been no less safe for it.
Also, the death penalty endorses the very violence it claims to condemn. When a state deliberately kills a restrained, defenseless person, it teaches that killing is an acceptable answer to harm. A government cannot credibly say that taking a human life is wrong while setting aside a room, a staff, and a supply of drugs to do exactly that. Iowa should continue to model a better answer: holding people accountable while refusing to make killing the work of the state.
Finally, the death penalty is cruel and unusual. Both the Eighth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and Article I, Section 17 of the Iowa Constitution forbid cruel and unusual punishment. A lethal injection that leaves someone conscious through two doses of a lethal drug fits any ordinary meaning of “cruel.”
Those reasons are why IADP urges Iowa lawmakers to take note. Bills to bring back the death penalty in Iowa have been introduced in recent sessions. Although none has passed both chambers, what happened in Tennessee shows exactly what Iowa would be signing up for if those bills advanced.
IADP urges members of the Iowa General Assembly and Governor’s office to reject any future attempt to reinstate capital punishment. We also call on Tennessee and every state that still carries out executions to end this practice for good.
Iowa chose a different path more than 60 years ago. We should be proud of that choice and never go back.
Contact: Marty Ryan, President, Iowans Against the Death Penalty —info@iowansagainstthedeathpenalty.org
