注射死刑在田纳西州对克丽丝塔·派克（Christa Pike）的死刑行刑失败、派克在经历了两轮药物注射后幸存下来后，正受到严格审查。
Lethal injections are under scrutiny after Christa Pike survived two rounds of drugs during Tennessee's failed attempt to execute her. Why it matters:
为什么这很重要：根据死刑信息中心（Death Penalty Information Center）的数据，几十年来，注射死刑一直是美国主要的死刑执行方式，占1976年以来实施的1,683起死刑的大约89%。
Lethal injection has been the dominant U.S. execution method for decades, accounting for roughly 89% of the 1,683 executions carried out since 1976, per the Death Penalty Information Center Driving the news:
新闻背景：派克在三十年前因谋杀一名同学而被定罪，周三她在两轮注射死刑药物后幸存了下来。这本应是该州200年来首次对女性执行死刑。
Pike convicted of killing a classmate three decades ago, survived two rounds of lethal injection drugs Wednesday in what would have been the state's first execution of a woman in 200 years.
- 对此，州长比尔·李（Bill Lee）暂停了死刑执行，并下令对此次行刑失败进行“全面的第三方审查”。
• In response, Gov. Bill Lee halted executions and ordered a "comprehensive, third-party review" of the failed attempt.
- 在派克面临行刑之前，经历了数小时的法律拉锯战，法院先是暂缓执行死刑，随后又逆转了判决。
• Pike's execution attempt followed hours of legal whiplash in which courts first stayed the execution before reversing course.
- 据美联社报道，派克的律师在一次新闻发布会上表示，截至周四下午，派克仍然活着。她在周三晚上的行刑失败后正在接受“抢救性护理”，她的律师称这次失败无异于“酷刑”。
• Pike is still alive as of Thursday afternoon, her attorney said at a news conference, according to the AP. She is receiving "lifesaving care" after a failed attempt Wednesday night that her attorney said amounted to "torture." The big picture:
宏观背景：各州的行刑规程各不相同，但注射死刑通常遵循相同的基本流程。各州为何采用注射死刑
Execution protocols vary by state, but lethal injections generally follow the same basic process. Why states adopted lethal injection
回溯：在最高法院于20世纪70年代允许恢复死刑后，注射死刑应运而生。
Flashback: Lethal injections emerged after the Supreme Court allowed capital punishment to return in the 1970s.
- 俄克拉何马州于1977年成为第一个授权这种做法的州。德克萨斯州在五年后实施了第一次注射死刑。
• Oklahoma became the first state to authorize the practice in 1977. Texas carried out its first five years later.
- 在注射死刑出现之前，各州通常使用电椅、毒气、绞刑和行刑队等方法。立法者认为注射方式不那么暴力且成本更低。
• Before lethal injections, states commonly used methods like electrocution, gas, hanging and firing squads. Lawmakers considered injections to be less violent and cheaper.
注射死刑目前被所有实行死刑的州所采用。
Lethal injections are now used in all death penalty states.
- 最高法院要求各州仅对最残暴的谋杀保留死刑。
• The Supreme Court requires states to reserve the death penalty only for the most heinous murders.
几个州——爱达荷州、密西西比州、俄克拉何马州、南卡罗来纳州和犹他州——允许使用行刑队。• 爱达荷州于7月将行刑队定为主要的行刑方式。注射死刑是如何实施的
Several states — Idaho, Mississippi, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Utah —allow firing squads • Idaho made firing squad its primary execution method in July. How lethal injections are administered
并没有单一的标准程序。各州采用的规程各有不同，但基本流程大同小异。
There isn't one standard procedure. States use different protocols, but the basic process is similar.
- 在犯人被约束（通常是绑在推车上）的情况下，通过静脉注射（IV）输入致死剂量的药物。
• A fatal dose of drugs is delivered through an IV while the prisoner is restrained, often to a gurney.
- 例如，亚利桑那州要求使用两条静脉导管，其中一条作为备用，以防第一条静脉通道失效。
• Arizona, for example, requires two IV catheters, one as a backup in case the first line fails. Physicians often
医生通常不会实施死刑注射，因为美国医学会的《医学伦理法典》规定医生不应参与死刑执行。
don't administer lethal injections because the American Medical Association's Code of Medical Ethics says doctors should not participate in executions.
- 取代医生的是，各州有时会依赖由狱警、惩教人员以及其他受过药物注射培训的人员组成的死刑执行小组。死刑注射使用什么药物
• States instead sometimes rely on execution teams that can include prison guards, corrections employees and other personnel trained to administer the drugs. What drugs are used in lethal injections
它是如何运作的这些药物的给药方式主要有两种。
How it works There are two main ways these drugs are administered.
- 单药注射途径——州政府使用镇静剂或巴比妥酸盐（通常是戊巴比妥）来导致死亡。
• One drug path — The state administers a sedative or barbiturate, commonly pentobarbital, to cause death.
- 三药注射途径——另一种方法是先给予镇静剂或麻醉剂，接着给予肌肉松弛剂，最后注射一种使心脏停搏的药物。
• Three drug path — Another method includes giving a sedative or anesthetic, then a paralytic before a final drug stops the heart. Yes, but:
是的，但是：戊巴比妥本身就存在争议，批评者质疑它是否真的能无痛致死。
Pentobarbital itself is controversial with critics questioning whether it really causes a painless death.
- 拜登政府时期司法部的一项审查指出，该药物可能引起疼痛和痛苦。
• A Justice Department review under the Biden administration cited concerns that the drug possibly caused pain and suffering.
- 特朗普总统的司法部重新授权联邦政府使用戊巴比妥。死刑注射并不总是按计划顺利进行
• President Trump's DOJ reauthorized the federal use of pentobarbital. Lethal injections don't always work as planned
派克的案子并不是第一起注射死刑出现失误的案件。死刑信息中心（DPIC）表示，在1890年至2010年期间，1054起死刑注射中有75起（约占7%）操作失当——在所有死刑方法中失误最多。
Pike's case is not the first lethal injection gone wrong. The DPIC says 75 of 1,054 lethal injections (about 7%) were botched from 1890 to 2010 — the most of any method. What they're saying:
各方言论：一些死刑的目击者曾描述犯人大口喘气并艰难呼吸的场景。
Witnesses to some executions have described prisoners gasping for air and struggling to breathe.
- 一些犯人在最初的行刑尝试中幸存下来，但随后死于并发症或其他医疗原因，有时这与行刑尝试有关。其他人则在日后被再次执行死刑。
• Some prisoners survive the initial attempt but later die from complications or other medical causes, sometimes linked to the execution attempt. Others are executed at a later date.
根据美国国家公共电台（NPR）的报道，尸检结果显示这名囚犯患有肺水肿——这是一种肺部积液的情况，其症状与溺水非常相似。
• Autopsies have found evidence of prisoner suffering from pulmonary edema, which is a buildup of fluid in the lungs that can create the same sensation as drowning, per NPR.
具体案例： 2022年，阿拉巴马州取消了肯尼斯·史密斯的死刑执行计划，因为在执行令失效之前，相关工作人员未能成功为他插入静脉导管。
Case in point: In 2022, Alabama called off Kenneth Smith 's execution after officials couldn't insert an IV before his death warrant expired.
- 史密斯虽然幸存了下来，但后来在2024年仍因氮气缺氧而死亡；这是美国历史上首次出现通过这种方式导致死刑执行失败的情况。
• Smith survived but was later executed in 2024 through nitrogen hypoxia, a first in American history.
- 2014年，俄克拉荷马州对克莱顿·洛克特的死刑执行过程也出现了严重问题：由于工作人员未能正确地为他插入静脉导管，他在大约一小时后不幸身亡。
• In 2014, the execution of Clayton Lockett in Oklahoma went badly after officials failed to properly establish an IV. He died nearly an hour later.