Tennessee Execution Fails Despite Two Lethal Injections

Tennessee death row inmate Christa Pike has been taken to hospital after an attempt to execute her by two lethal injections failed, her lawyer says.

Her legal team filed an emergency motion to halt the convicted murderer's execution as it was happening, saying: "Ms Pike has lost consciousness and still has a heartbeat and is audibly snoring."

One of her attorneys told the BBC that Pike, 50, was now "being provided life-saving measures" in hospital after two syringes of pentobarbital had been administered.

Pike was sentenced to death in 1996 for the murder of 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer. Her execution was the subject of a last-minute legal battle.

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Lethal injection is a barbaric form of execution. Even when it works, it routinely takes between 30 minutes to an hour. Some executions have taken much longer. And some have simply failed. The British used to be able to carry out their executions in less than a minute from the moment the hangman entered the condemned person's cell. If we must have capital punishment something similar should be the standard here. 

Bond Rout Continues

U.S. Treasury yields hit their highest level in more than two decades on Thursday as a global bond sell-off deepened. A September manufacturing survey in the U.S. showed a sharp gain in prices.

The 10-year Treasury yield breached a level last seen in April 2002, before easing more than 4 basis points to 5.251%. The 10-year is a key benchmark for rates on mortgage and auto loans and credit card debt. The yield on the 30-year Treasury bond also hit its highest in 24 years before pulling back to 5.61%.

Yields and prices move inversely. One basis point equals 0.01%.

“Stocks are near records, but with government bond yields also at multidecade highs, there are questions about how long this rally can last. Some investors also expect higher interest rates to undo the decades-long ‘there is no alternative’ to stocks regime,” Hardika Singh, economic strategist at Fundstrat, said in a Thursday note.

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For a British perspective, see this.