It was a big decision made by Tennessee's Governor Bill Lee to pause any further executions for the rest of 2026 -- after the failed lethal injection of Christa Pike.
In response to this decision, a few Jacksonians spoke with 39 News about what they would like to say to the governor regarding this decision.
Some believed that the system needed to be reviewed and reformatted in a different fashion given the failed execution.
“Governor Lee, what is going on? I can, I can see why you would halt the executions for the rest of the year, but I would also say, let's get rid of your medical team,” said Andrea Jones.
“OK, if I can talk to the governor, I would tell him to regulate the system to where they can find a way to get it right on the first time. I feel that if they have a botched execution, maybe the inmates should get a reduced sentence,” said Deshon Williams.
“To me, it'd be a good idea after this recent situation because it was already enough for her to know that she was, you know, getting life to death. But after what's happened now, they need to reconsider,” said Timothy Whittington.
Others believed that the power to decide who lives and who dies should be in the hands of a different power.
“I just say to him, leave it in God's hands. It don't went through, and it doesn't happen what happened. Just leave it, just leave it in God's hands,” said Abarius Murphy.
As time moves forward, it remains to be seen what this could mean for the future of the death penalty in Tennessee.
