Christa Pike's botched execution in Tennessee has reignited debate over the death penalty in the United States. What's the status in Iowa?

Some Indiana lawmakers say they want to legalize death by firing squad, especially given what happened to Tennessee death row inmate Christa Pike earlier this week.

The death penalty is back center stage in national politics in the most macabre of circumstances. Christa Pike, 50, who admits to the gruesome 1995 murder of classmate Colleen Slemmer, is in critical condition in the hospital after Tennessee’s attempt to execute her Wednesday evening failed.

Indiana leaders can't agree on how to handle latest developments

State legislators and the courts have turned the death penalty into a grimly farcical process, feeding the cheapest arguments against it. The attempted execution of Christa Pike in Tennessee showcases this fact.

The Lwandle and Khayelitsha killings have revived calls for South Africa to restore the death penalty, but experts remain divided over deterrence, wrongful convictions and the country’s ability to prosecute violent crimes effectively.