Keri Blakinger @keribla.bsky.social · 4hChrista Pike was release from the hospital and back to prison, according to her lawyers 0103
Keri Blakinger @keribla.bsky.social · 09/10/2026This case is so bonkers - this is the officers' union suit against the BOP for abruptly terminating their contract last year. Case is headed for a contempt hearing and the government's handling of it all is... well, it's detailed here, you can read: storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us... 093
Reposted by Keri BlakingerLiliana Segura @lilianasegura.bsky.social · 09/10/2026On the day TN was torturing Christa Pike I was in Oklahoma for what should have been a major step in finally resolving the saga of Richard Glossip. It happened to be Sept 30--exactly 11 years after OK nearly killed Glossip only to realize it had the wrong drugs. My report w/@jordansmith.bsky.socialtheintercept.comThe Key Witness Against Richard Glossip Just Returned to Court. It Didn’t Go Well.Decades after blaming Richard Glossip for his own actions, Justin Sneed is less credible than ever — and prosecutors know it. 14213
Reposted by Keri BlakingerLiliana Segura @lilianasegura.bsky.social · 09/10/2026I'm still catching up on the aftermath of Christa Pike's execution ordeal but I really appreciated this piece by @keribla.bsky.social, which provides key context and analysis on botched executions, with myriad examples from recent and not-so-recent years. (Do people remember Angel Diaz? I do...)propublica.orgWhy Tennessee’s Botched Death Row Execution Could Happen AnywhereThe complications behind Tennessee’s failed execution of Christa Pike aren’t uncommon — and show how easily another botched execution could occur, even as others are planned soon in Texas and Florida. 04713
Keri Blakinger @keribla.bsky.social · 09/10/2026According the latest from her lawyers, Christa Pike is now walking, taking “limited steps” 1289
Keri Blakinger @keribla.bsky.social · 08/10/2026This is WILD. The BOP has apparently RE-terminated the union contract 32612
Keri Blakinger @keribla.bsky.social · 08/10/2026I mean the NYT story seems to imply many would, but under half. I have definitely encountered plenty of death row inmates with no prior felonies (like esp the really young ones who came in at 18/19/20) but I never counted. 010
Keri Blakinger @keribla.bsky.social · 08/10/2026Here's the full story www.nytimes.com/2026/10/07/u...nytimes.comNewsom Mulls Sparing Lives of All 563 Prisoners on Death Row in CaliforniaGov. Gavin Newsom ramped up talks after a botched execution in Tennessee. 181
Keri Blakinger @keribla.bsky.social · 08/10/2026Newsom is reportedly considering mass commutations for California death row, but turns out he can't really do that much without help from the courts: 2206
Keri Blakinger @keribla.bsky.social · 08/10/2026Oh right. The liquid pool. As opposed to the solid pool. Naturally. 2202
Keri Blakinger @keribla.bsky.social · 08/10/2026Statement from the Texas Coalition Against the Death Penalty on the execution: 0453
Keri Blakinger @keribla.bsky.social · 08/10/2026Last words of Jamaal Howard, who was executed tonight in Texas: 610021
Reposted by Keri Blakingersynstistute.bsky.social @synstistute.bsky.social · 07/10/2026Austin Sarat (Amherst College) analyzed 8,776 executions in the United States between 1890 and 2010 - a total of 276 procedures went wrong (3.5%). Problems vary by method though - see attached (deathpenaltyinfo.org/executions/b...) 131
Keri Blakinger @keribla.bsky.social · 07/10/2026In a hearing this morning, the state said it couldn't answer questions about whether it would try to execute her again: 1215242
Keri Blakinger @keribla.bsky.social · 07/10/2026Sometimes I really enjoy listening to all the ways that judges can politely ask the state "r u rly serious tho" 49612
Keri Blakinger @keribla.bsky.social · 07/10/2026👀 A federal judge has ordered an in-person hearing as to whether the Federal Bureau of Prisons should be held in contempt for failing to restore the union's contract after a court ordered it to: 1233
Reposted by Keri BlakingerJessica Lussenhop @jlussenhop.bsky.social · 07/10/2026"Pike did not fall into sedation quickly. Instead, witnesses said, she sang with her spiritual adviser. Then she said her arm felt like it was about to burst open. 'Does this happen like that?' she asked." by @keribla.bsky.social www.propublica.org/article/chri...propublica.orgWhy Tennessee’s Botched Death Row Execution Could Happen AnywhereThe complications behind Tennessee’s failed execution of Christa Pike aren’t uncommon — and show how easily another botched execution could occur, even as others are planned soon in Texas and Florida. 2135
Keri Blakinger @keribla.bsky.social · 07/10/2026There's an execution scheduled for today in Texas - using the same method, same drug that Tennessee used last week when they tried to kill Christa Pike. Background here: www.propublica.org/article/chri... 614355
Keri Blakinger @keribla.bsky.social · 07/10/2026So, generally pharm companies all refuse to sell drugs to states for execution so most states we know of have generally turned to compounded drugs (including for pento) tho occasionally they hsve mysteriously gotten manufactured ones anyway. TN won’t say where they got these 030
Keri Blakinger @keribla.bsky.social · 07/10/2026Here's the rest of that filing (sans exhibits) storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...storage.courtlistener.comMemorandum in Support – #75, Att. #1 in National Council of Prison Locals, American Federation of Government Employees v. Federal Bureau of Prisons (D. Conn., 3:25-cv-01907) – CourtListener.comMemorandum in Support 0111
Keri Blakinger @keribla.bsky.social · 07/10/2026The federal prison union is asking a judge to hold the BOP in contempt bc they say the agency ignored the court order to reinstate the union contract - and some of the things they're alleging in this motion are WILD 45220
Keri Blakinger @keribla.bsky.social · 07/10/2026I’m still reporting on this topic. If you know more or are involved in preparing or carrying out lethal injections, you can reach me at keri.blakinger@propublica.org or securely on Signal at KeriB.123 38011
Keri Blakinger @keribla.bsky.social · 07/10/2026Prisoners across the country have repeatedly sued over this kind of secrecy. “Without public accountability or transparency,” said one lawyer, “we should expect to see more people strapped to gurneys and tortured for hours at a time.” www.propublica.org/article/chri...propublica.orgWhy Tennessee’s Botched Death Row Execution Could Happen AnywhereThe complications behind Tennessee’s failed execution of Christa Pike aren’t uncommon — and show how easily another botched execution could occur, even as others are planned soon in Texas and Florida. 29021
Keri Blakinger @keribla.bsky.social · 07/10/2026States withhold everything from testing results to purchase dates, making it hard to say whether degraded drugs played a role if an execution goes awry. That’s what Jamaal Howard’s lawyers fear could happen Weds. in Texas - and why they’re asking the governor for a reprieve. 1647
Keri Blakinger @keribla.bsky.social · 07/10/2026When concerns about execution teams come to light it’s largely by accident. State secrecy laws often shield the names of execution team members, so it’s almost impossible to know whether they have a troubled history. The laws conceal info about the drugs used & their effects. 1629
Keri Blakinger @keribla.bsky.social · 07/10/2026It’s not clear whether he participated in last week’s execution attempt, though previously he told local media he would. When I asked him, he declined to comment. 1645
Keri Blakinger @keribla.bsky.social · 07/10/2026In a deposition, Fowler admitted he hadn’t placed such a line in ~12 years. His hands were shaking, said a witness. (In a text, Fowler denied this - see next post.) By the time he gave up, his lawyer said Tony was moaning, with blood oozing from his wounds. 1624
Keri Blakinger @keribla.bsky.social · 07/10/2026If a person’s health isn’t a problem, sometimes the executioners are. In May, TN botched the execution of Tony Carruthers. After executioners repeatedly failed to find a vein, a physician named Dr. Fowler attempted to place a deep IV line near Tony’s heart. 2726
Keri Blakinger @keribla.bsky.social · 07/10/2026Attorneys worry similar problems could surface next week, when Florida plans to execute William Lee Thompson, 74. In addition to an array of health problems, his lawyer told me he’s malnourished & dehydrated, which could make it even harder for executioners to locate a vein. 1708
Keri Blakinger @keribla.bsky.social · 07/10/2026Some of the most notorious failed executions have involved prisoners whose bodies were failing them. Take Doyle Hamm, a terminally ill cancer patient. In 2018, prison officials spent >2 hours looking for a vein, possibly puncturing his bladder before giving up. 1729
Keri Blakinger @keribla.bsky.social · 07/10/2026Her legal team warned of this, due in part to her blood disorder. Like Christa, many older prisoners have medical issues that, compounded by age, can turn a theoretically quick death agonizing. One study found the odds of a botched lethal injection grows by ~6% w/ each year. 18510
Keri Blakinger @keribla.bsky.social · 07/10/2026Her lawyers point to the way the drug was administered, arguing it was “abundantly clear” that her execution team didn’t realize the IV lines were out of place or that her veins were so damaged that the drug leached into her arm tissue. 1748
Keri Blakinger @keribla.bsky.social · 07/10/2026I’ve seen 5 executions with the drug. Four prisoners said it burned. Two said they could taste it. One said he could “hear it going through the vein.” But all of them died. Why not Christa? TN officials haven’t offered an explanation. 2798
Keri Blakinger @keribla.bsky.social · 07/10/2026The Biden admin stopped using pentobarbital for executions, saying it could cause “unnecessary pain and suffering.” This year the Trump admin reversed course. 18817
Keri Blakinger @keribla.bsky.social · 07/10/2026For lethal injections, Tennessee — along with SC, MO, GA and TX — relies on pentobarbital, a caustic barbiturate also used to treat seizures, sedate humans before surgery and euthanize animals. It has drawn repeated scrutiny for use on death row. 415523
Keri Blakinger @keribla.bsky.social · 07/10/2026Here are the basics of what happened: -Executioners struggled to find a vein -The first dose didn’t work, so they gave her a rare second dose -Her arms blistered, one turned purple -She didn’t die, but was unconscious for days On Tuesday, her lawyers said she woke up. 1856
Keri Blakinger @keribla.bsky.social · 06/10/2026Christa is the first person in the U.S. to survive a lethal injection. The outcome is unprecedented but what went wrong isn’t — and shows how easily another botched execution could occur. www.propublica.org/article/chri...propublica.orgWhy Tennessee’s Botched Death Row Execution Could Happen AnywhereThe complications behind Tennessee’s failed execution of Christa Pike aren’t uncommon — and show how easily another botched execution could occur, even as others are planned soon in Texas and Florida. 822642
Keri Blakinger @keribla.bsky.social · 06/10/2026I’ve covered death row cases for nearly a decade and witnessed several executions. What happened to Christa Pike wasn’t an anomaly. It could happen anywhere. With another execution planned for this week in Texas, let me explain why. THREAD 🧵 17388147
Keri Blakinger @keribla.bsky.social · 06/10/2026Background here - and more on why this could happen anywhere: www.propublica.org/article/chri...propublica.orgWhy Tennessee’s Botched Death Row Execution Could Happen AnywhereThe complications behind Tennessee’s failed execution of Christa Pike aren’t uncommon — and show how easily another botched execution could occur, even as others are planned soon in Texas and Florida. 1528
Keri Blakinger @keribla.bsky.social · 06/10/2026BREAKING: Christa Pike is now awake and talking, per her attorneys: 12386112
Reposted by Keri BlakingerCharles Ornstein @charlesornstein.bsky.social · 06/10/2026Important piece by @keribla.bsky.social: I’ve Covered Death Row Cases for Nearly a Decade. What Happened to Christa Pike Wasn’t an Anomaly.propublica.orgWhy Tennessee’s Botched Death Row Execution Could Happen AnywhereThe complications behind Tennessee’s failed execution of Christa Pike aren’t uncommon — and show how easily another botched execution could occur, even as others are planned soon in Texas and Florida. 03219
Reposted by Keri BlakingerProPublica @propublica.org · 06/10/2026NEW: The complications behind Tennessee’s failed execution of Christa Pike aren’t uncommon — and show how easily another botched execution could occur, even as others are planned soon in Texas and Florida. by @keribla.bsky.socialpropublica.orgWhy Tennessee’s Botched Death Row Execution Could Happen AnywhereThe complications behind Tennessee’s failed execution of Christa Pike aren’t uncommon — and show how easily another botched execution could occur, even as others are planned soon in Texas and Florida. 26263117
Keri Blakinger @keribla.bsky.social · 06/10/2026There’s an execution scheduled for tomorrow in Texas, and lawyers are worried it could be a repeat of what happened to Christa Pike in Tennessee last week. Here's why what happened to her wasn't really an anomaly: www.propublica.org/article/chri...propublica.orgWhy Tennessee’s Botched Death Row Execution Could Happen AnywhereThe complications behind Tennessee’s failed execution of Christa Pike aren’t uncommon — and show how easily another botched execution could occur, even as others are planned soon in Texas and Florida. 0185
Keri Blakinger @keribla.bsky.social · 06/10/2026If I had been the head of the Texas prison I think I would, after retiring, simply not choose to get involved in overseeing TJJD as a pastime. 0/10 do not recommend for ways to spent retirement gov.texas.gov/news/post/go...gov.texas.govGovernor Greg Abbott Appoints Collier To Texas Juvenile Justice Board 060
Reposted by Keri BlakingerKyle Cheney @kyledcheney.bsky.social · 05/10/2026Judge Gary Brown, a Trump appointee in New York, rebukes ICE for arresting two people erroneously — including a U.S. citizen — and later claiming "mistaken identity." "ICE agents falsified official records," he says. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us... 632682927
Keri Blakinger @keribla.bsky.social · 04/10/2026here's the whole post btw www.ms.now/opinion/ange...ms.nowOpinion | Angela Paxton’s argument to vote for her husband has to be heard to be believedThe wife of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton urges women to vote for him despite their many reservations. 2212