Skip to content

Crime & JusticeDeveloping

Christa Pike Hospitalized After Failed Tennessee Lethal Injection

By

Coverage spectrum

Covered by 3 outlets, mostly left-leaning (67%).

5 articles in total, 2 of them opinion. The spectrum counts each outlet once and leaves opinion out. How we measure bias

Execution chamber with gurney and restraints, viewed through glass, with observers behind a window.
Image via Al Jazeera EnglishHow images are chosenReport this image

Tennessee attempted to execute Christa Pike, 50, by lethal injection on September 30, but two doses of pentobarbital did not kill her and the execution was called off. Her attorneys said she was in critical condition and receiving life-saving care, and that she regained consciousness on October 6 but faces a long recovery. Governor Bill Lee announced a pause on executions in Tennessee and a third-party review of the incident. Pike was sentenced to death for her part in the murder of a classmate when she was 18. Attention has turned to the state’s execution protocol, and experts say lethal injections are frequently marred by mishaps. Critics describe what happened as torture, a characterization the state has not been reported to accept.

Headline and summary written by Mantle’s AI from the coverage below, under published rules. How this works

What happened

Key points

Each point shows who reports it, from Far Left to Far Right.

  1. Christa Pike survived two doses of pentobarbital during the September 30 execution attempt in Tennessee and was taken to hospital.

    Reported byFar Left1Left2Center1See the outletsHide the outlets
    Far Left
    Truthout
    Left
    Al Jazeera English, The Guardian
    Center
    France 24

  2. Pike’s attorneys said she was in critical condition and receiving life-saving care, and that she regained consciousness on October 6.

    Reported byFar Left1Left1Center1See the outletsHide the outlets
    Far Left
    Truthout
    Left
    Al Jazeera English
    Center
    France 24

  3. Governor Bill Lee announced a pause on executions in Tennessee and promised a third-party review of the incident.

    One outletAl Jazeera English· Left

  4. Pike was sentenced to death for her part in the murder of a classmate when she was 18, and the execution was the second this year that Tennessee authorities called off.

    One outletAl Jazeera English· Left

  5. The New York Times reports that differences between Tennessee’s current and previous execution protocols have become a focus of the case.

    One outletThe New York Times· Left

What is contested

Where accounts differ

Points the coverage does not agree on, and who says what.

  • The attempted execution of Christa Pike amounted to torture.

    Truthout, a Guardian opinion columnist, and a spokesperson for Together Against the Death Penalty quoted by France 24 describe it as torture. Al Jazeera describes it as a botched execution and cites experts on lethal injection mishaps without making a finding on torture.

  • The execution protocol was likely to fail, and the cause of the failure is known.

    Pike’s lawyers argued before the execution that the protocol was likely to fail again, as reported in The Guardian. The New York Times reports that the differences between the current and previous protocols are a focus of scrutiny. Governor Bill Lee has promised a third-party review, so the cause has not been established in the supplied coverage.

How each side tells it

Compare views

  • the left

    2 outlets · 2 opinion

    Headlines from the news outlets describe a botched execution and focus on the protocol and expert criticism of lethal injection, while the opinion pieces and the far-left outlet frame it as torture and as an argument against capital punishment.

    A Vague, Redacted Execution Protocol in Tennessee Draws Scrutiny
    The New York TimesLeftAll left-leaning headlines

  • the center

    1 outlet

    The single center article uses the words “Absolute torture” as its headline, presenting a spokesperson’s characterization of the execution in the outlet’s own voice, alongside the factual report that Pike is in critical condition.

    'Absolute torture': Female US inmate in critical condition after botched execution
    France 24CenterAll center headlines

  • the right

    No coverage yet

    No right-leaning outlet that Mantle follows has covered this story yet. That absence is part of the picture.

The words they chose

Language to notice

Words that carry a judgement beyond the facts. Tap a highlighted word anywhere on the page to see why.

  • Left5

    horrortorturetried to murder Pikein other words, torture

  • Center0

    No loaded words in its own voice.

  • Right

    Has not covered this story.

In the outlets’ own words

  • Sensational language

    horrorMore neutral: the death penalty

    The headline frames the death penalty through a strong emotional word that states the columnist’s judgment rather than describing the practice.

    Christa Pike’s botched execution is a reminder of the horror of the death penalty | Moira Donegan

    Used byThe Guardian (Left)

  • Sensational language

    tortureMore neutral: the botched execution of Christa Pike

    The description characterizes the execution as torture in the outlet’s own voice, which is a contested claim rather than a description of the event.

    Let’s build a world in which the torture of Christa Pike — or anyone — is unthinkable.

    Used byTruthout (Far Left)

  • Loaded verb

    tried to murder PikeMore neutral: attempted to execute Pike

    Describing the attempt as a murder adds a legal and moral judgment that a neutral account would leave to the reader.

    On September 30, the state of Tennessee tried to murder Pike.

    Used byTruthout (Far Left)

  • Sensational language

    in other words, tortureMore neutral: a botched execution in which she experienced prolonged difficulty breathing

    The article restates the event in its own voice as torture, a characterization the supplied coverage does not establish as settled.

    …sent into critical condition, in a notoriously “botched execution” — in other words, torture.

    Used byTruthout (Far Left)

Show 1 more phrasesShow fewer

  • Delegitimizing label

    State-Sponsored, State-Celebrated MurderMore neutral: Death Penalty Debate

    Calling a legally authorized execution murder presents a contested moral conclusion as fact in the headline.

    We Must Move Beyond the Era of State-Sponsored, State-Celebrated Murder

    Used byTruthout (Far Left)

Words quoted from someone else (1)Hide the quoted words

Loaded words that outlets reported someone else saying. They show what was said, not how the outlet chose to say it.

  • Loaded modifier

    Quoted

    incompetenceMore neutral: errors

    The word is a judgment about the people carrying out executions, and the article attributes it to experts rather than establishing it as fact.

    …States, where lethal injections, experts say, are frequently marred by mishaps and incompetence.

    Quoted byAl Jazeera English (Left)

    Inside a quotation: the outlets are reporting someone else’s words.

See the full language guide

See for yourself

Side by side

What each side leads with and what it leaves out. Open a side to read its headlines.

From the left

2 outlets · 2 opinion

Leads with

  • experts say lethal injections are frequently marred by mishaps
  • the state’s execution protocol and its differences from the previous one
  • Pike’s trauma and suffering during the attempt
  • a call to end capital punishment
See the 4 headlines from the leftHide the headlines
  • The New York TimesLeft

    A Vague, Redacted Execution Protocol in Tennessee Draws Scrutiny

    The differences between the current protocol and the previous one have become a focus in Christa Pike’s failed execution.

    Read at The New York Times (opens in a new tab)
  • Al Jazeera EnglishLeft

    Christa Pike case underscores prevalence of botched executions in US

    Experts say methods such as lethal injection promise a more humane form of execution but are frequently marred by mishap

    Read at Al Jazeera English (opens in a new tab)
  • TruthoutFar LeftOpinion

    We Must Move Beyond the Era of Delegitimizing label“State-Sponsored, State-Celebrated Murder”Calling a legally authorized execution murder presents a contested moral conclusion as fact in the headline.More neutral: Death Penalty DebateDisagree with this highlight?

    Let’s build a world in which the Sensational language“torture”The description characterizes the execution as torture in the outlet’s own voice, which is a contested claim rather than a description of the event.More neutral: the botched execution of Christa PikeDisagree with this highlight? of Christa Pike — or anyone — is unthinkable.

    Read at Truthout (opens in a new tab)
  • The GuardianLeftOpinion

    Christa Pike’s botched execution is a reminder of the Sensational language“horror”The headline frames the death penalty through a strong emotional word that states the columnist’s judgment rather than describing the practice.More neutral: the death penaltyDisagree with this highlight? of the death penalty | Moira Donegan

    Lethal injection was a way for us to deny the reality of capital punishment. Pike’s experience shows us what it is Christa Pike had asked to be hanged. …

    Read at The Guardian (opens in a new tab)

From the center

1 outlet

Leads with

  • Pike’s critical condition after the failed execution
  • a spokesperson’s description of the attempt as torture
  • the sequence of events from the execution chamber to the hospital
See the headline from the centerHide the headlines
  • France 24Center

    'Absolute torture': Female US inmate in critical condition after botched execution

    A condemned female murderer who survived two lethal injections during a botched execution by the US state of Tennessee was in critical condition and receiving "life-saving care," according to her attorneys. …

    Read at France 24 (opens in a new tab)

From the right

0 outlets

No right-leaning outlet that Mantle follows has covered this story yet. That absence is part of the picture.

Articles you open from here build My Mix, a private picture of how your reading spreads across the spectrum, kept on this device. What is My Mix?

The left is Far Left and Left together. The right is Right and Far Right together. Every outlet keeps its own five-point rating.

Who reported it when

How the coverage built up

  • Left

    First to report

    Al Jazeera English, Oct 8, 10:05 PM EDT

  • Center

    11 hr 59 min later

    Its first report, Oct 9, 10:03 AM EDT

  • Right

    No report yet

    From the outlets Mantle follows

See the order the outlets reported inHide the order
  1. Al Jazeera EnglishLeftOct 8, 10:05 PM EDT
  2. France 24CenterOct 9, 10:03 AM EDT
  3. The New York TimesLeftOct 10, 5:00 AM EDT

Times are the ones the outlets published in their own feeds, in Eastern time. Opinion is left out.

Read next

Help someone else find the truth beneath the surface

Most people see one side of a story. Share this one, so they can see how every side is telling it and decide for themselves.

Email it

Seen a mistake? Tell us what is wrong with this page