How does a failed execution affect the prisoner's legal and human rights?

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1. 1

   The Death Penalty: Botched Executions - Cruel and Unusual?

   SHAREOK (University of Oklahoma; Oklahoma State University; Central Oklahoma University) (Sikes)Published Feb 23, 2026Checked Oct 6, 2026

   “It is not, however, practiced in every state. As 2018 ended, thirty states have the death penalty on the books including the federal government and the military. Three of these states though, Oregon (2011), Colorado (2013), and Pennsylvania (2015) have governor moratoriums. Twenty states, plus the District of Columbia, have either abolished the use of the death penalty or their state courts have overturned it. The United States during its history has basically used five different forms of capital punishment: Firing squad, Hanging, Gas chamber, Electric chair, and Lethal injection. Each of these methods, except for the firing squad, has been botched in its delivery. Botched refers to the method of execution being performed poorly causing unnecessary discomfort, suffering, or pain to the person being executed. Every new method came with the promise of being more humane, but each new method largely failed to deliver in this promise.”

2. 2

   Conceptual and Scientific Defects in the Supreme Court's "Method of Execution" Jurisprudence.

   The Yale journal of biology and medicine (Dow & Newberry)Published Dec 20, 2019Checked Oct 6, 2026

   “The Eighth Amendment to the US Constitution prohibits the infliction of cruel and unusual punishments. However, no method of executing prisoners has ever been deemed by the Supreme Court to constitute Cruel and Unusual Punishment. Constitutional challenges to the dominant mode of executing prisoners today - lethal injection - are hobbled by a lack of clinical data that would reveal the likelihood this method might inflict gratuitous pain. Here, we assess the contemporary Eighth Amendment jurisprudence, including its legal and scientific limitations, and suggest modifications.”

3. 3

   Delivering Death: Capital Punishment, Botched Executions and the American Press

   City Research Online (City University London) (Greer)Published Nov 1, 2005Checked Oct 6, 2026

   “Media representations, then, are closely interconnected with how the death penalty is ‘made to mean’ throughout the USA and the rest of the world. This chapter explores the construction of juridical killing in the American press by considering the representation of three ‘botched executions’ (executions in which the apparatus of death, in this case the electric chair, malfunctions) which took place in Florida during the 1990s. Botched executions are of particular interest for at least two obvious reasons. First, they represent a direct challenge to the state’s desired presentation of capital punishment as quick, clean and painless. Secondly, by making the violence inherent in capital punishment clearly visible, and raising questions about the suffering of the condemned, they present abolitionists with an important opportunity to mobilize support against the continued use of the death penalty. How the press construct botched executions offers useful insights into the contemporary meaning of capital punishment in America, and demonstrates how attempts to challenge the cultural hegemony of state killing in the media may ultimately serve to reinforce it.”

4. 4

   The case of Kenneth Smith "The war of a state against a citizen".

   La Clinica terapeutica (Rinaldi et al.)Published Jan 1, 2025Checked Oct 6, 2026

   “It seeks to reopen the discussion on the death penalty from a bio-ethical perspective, considering the sensory experience of death and its impact on both inmates and observers.MethodsTo analyze the case of Kenneth Eugene Smith, an in-depth search was conducted on scientific databases and international newspapers. Sources were selected to support the analysis of the case, including discussions on previous death penalty debates. Additionally, an overview of nitrogen usage and its physiological effects was provided.Resultshe execution of Kenneth Eugene Smith by nitrogen asphyxiation is described, highlighting observations made by witnesses and the prisoner's resistance. Discussion points include the prisoner's suffering, the execution method's lack of scientific study, and transparency.ConclusionsThe paper, according to shared ethical principles, criticizes the execution method failure and calls for further research to analyze the psychic and physical distress experienced by the inmates. It advocates for a reevaluation of execution protocols to uphold human dignity and minimize suffering.”

5. 5

   Nothing Less than the Dignity of Man: Evolving Standards, Botched Executions and Utah's Controversial Use of the Firing Squad

   EngagedScholarship @ Cleveland State University (Cleveland State University) (Cutler)Published Jan 1, 2003Checked Oct 6, 2026

   “While outrage boils to the surface when Utah uses its firing squad option, there is little substantive legal development concerning the firing squad's use. Few cases have challenged the firing squad's constitutionality. This article discusses the legal and political implications of the firing squad. Using the Supreme Court's everdeveloping Eighth Amendment jurisprudence as a guide, this article discusses whether the firing squad, both historically and in its present application, passes constitutional muster. Beyond those factors that trigger constitutional protection, this article discusses those elements of the firing squad's use which define society's humanity and demonstrate our dignity. In the end, those factors are framed and fashioned by each individual's view of decency and dignity.”