Texas officials have scheduled the first execution in the U.S. since the botched lethal injection of Christa Pike in Tennessee, as courts denied requests to halt the process. The execution of Jamaal Howard, a death row inmate, is set to proceed despite legal challenges over similar risks to the drug's efficacy.
Pike's execution in Tennessee failed last week, with her surviving two doses of pentobarbital, a drug that Texas officials plan to use for Howard. Pike's lawyers argue that her medical condition and the potential degradation of the drug contributed to the failure, while Texas officials have not provided details on the drug's quality or the execution protocol.
The U.S. Supreme Court denied a late appeal to stop Howard's execution, and Tennessee Governor Bill Lee has barred further executions for the remainder of the year. A probe into the failed execution is underway, with state officials ordered to preserve all evidence related to the incident.
Tennessee officials have not provided details on the pentobarbital's quality or the execution protocol, and Pike's lawyers continue to demand that Lee commute her sentence to life in prison and never reattempt her execution, citing concerns over the potential for further failures.