Botched Executions in the United States

The history of capital punishment in the United States includes executions and execution attempts that did not proceed as the state intended. Some prisoners survived an initial attempt. Others died only after prolonged procedures, misplaced IV lines, equipment failures, visible distress or other departures from the expected protocol.

What counts as a botched execution?

The Death Penalty Information Center summarizes research defining a botched execution as one involving a breakdown or departure from the expected protocol that produces unanticipated problems or delays, possible unnecessary suffering, or gross operational incompetence. Research associated with Austin Sarat identified 276 botched executions among 8,776 U.S. executions from 1890 through 2010, with lethal injection showing the highest botch rate among the principal methods examined.

Core cases

– September 15, 2009 — Romell Broom (Ohio): Lethal injection; failed attempt. Survived the attempt; ohio stopped the execution after more than two hours of unsuccessful iv-access efforts. – November 15, 2017 — Alva Campbell (Ohio): Lethal injection; failed attempt. Survived the attempt after officials were unable to obtain reliable venous access. – February 22, 2018 — Doyle Lee Hamm (Alabama): Lethal injection; failed attempt. Survived a prolonged failed attempt after executioners could not establish a usable iv line. – February 28, 2024 — Thomas Creech (Idaho): Lethal injection; failed attempt. Survived the attempt after the execution team failed eight times to place a functioning iv. – September 22, 2022 — Alan Eugene Miller (Alabama): Lethal injection; failed attempt. Survived after alabama was unable to establish iv access before the execution warrant expired. – November 17, 2022 — Kenneth Eugene Smith (Alabama): Lethal injection; failed attempt. Survived after officials could not establish the required iv lines before the warrant expired. – May 21, 2026 — Tony Von Carruthers (Tennessee): Lethal injection; failed attempt. Survived after tennessee could not establish the protocol’s required backup iv line. – April 29, 2014 — Clayton D. Lockett (Oklahoma): Lethal injection; botched execution. Died after a prolonged execution in which the iv infiltrated and he regained visible signs of consciousness. – July 23, 2014 — Joseph R. Wood (Arizona): Lethal injection; botched execution. Died after an execution that lasted nearly two hours and involved repeated gasping. – January 16, 2014 — Dennis McGuire (Ohio): Lethal injection; botched execution. Died after a prolonged execution marked by gasping, snorting and choking sounds. – December 13, 2006 — Angel Diaz (Florida): Lethal injection; botched execution. Died after iv catheters passed through his veins and drugs entered soft tissue. – October 28, 2021 — John Marion Grant (Oklahoma): Lethal injection; botched execution. Died after convulsing and vomiting during oklahoma’s return to executions. – July 28, 2022 — Joe Nathan James Jr. (Alabama): Lethal injection; botched execution. Died after a multi-hour execution process with extensive difficulty establishing iv access. – May 2, 2006 — Joseph L. Clark (Ohio): Lethal injection; botched execution. Died after a nearly 90-minute procedure marked by iv failure and repeated attempts to regain access. – March 25, 1997 — Pedro Medina (Florida): Electrocution; botched execution. Died after flames erupted from the electric-chair headpiece. – May 4, 1990 — Jesse Joseph Tafero (Florida): Electrocution; botched execution. Died after flames erupted from his head during multiple electrical cycles. – April 22, 1983 — John Evans (Alabama): Electrocution; botched execution. Died after three electrical jolts and visible fire and smoke. – September 2, 1983 — Jimmy Lee Gray (Mississippi): Gas chamber; botched execution. Died during a gas-chamber execution remembered for prolonged visible distress. – July 8, 1999 — Allen Lee Davis (Florida): Electrocution; botched execution. Died in florida’s electric chair amid visible bleeding that fueled constitutional litigation over the method. – May 10, 1994 — John Wayne Gacy (Illinois): Lethal injection; botched execution. Died after lethal-injection chemicals solidified and clogged the iv tubing.

Two survivor precedents that frame the cluster

Willie Francis survived an electric-chair execution in Louisiana in 1946 after the equipment malfunctioned. The U.S. Supreme Court later permitted Louisiana to try again in Louisiana ex rel. Francis v. Resweber, and Francis was executed in 1947.

Christa Pike survived Tennessee’s September 30, 2026 pentobarbital execution after the state had proceeded with drug administration. Her case differs sharply from the more common modern failure in which officials never obtain adequate IV access and therefore never fully begin drug delivery.

Patterns across the cases

The modern cases cluster around several recurring failure points: inability to establish IV access, infiltration or collapse of an IV line, drug-flow problems, prolonged respiratory distress, and inadequate contingency planning. Older electrocution and gas-chamber cases show a different technological failure pattern, including fire, smoke, repeated electrical cycles and prolonged asphyxiation.

Sources

– Death Penalty Information Center — Botched Executions – U.S. Supreme Court — Louisiana ex rel. Francis v. Resweber – Tennessee Department of Correction and wire-service reporting for the 2026 Christa Pike case

Execution-method layer

The cluster now connects to six canonical method pages: Lethal Injection as an Execution Method, Electrocution and the Electric Chair, Gas Chamber Execution, Firing Squad as an Execution Method, Hanging as an Execution Method, and Nitrogen Hypoxia as an Execution Method. This separates method history from individual failures while preserving bidirectional graph links.