Episode 61
Prior Authorization
Context & sources
From the news: Christa Pike survived Tennessee’s September 30, 2026, lethal-injection attempt and was taken to a hospital. On October 6, her attorneys said she was conscious, speaking, and continuing to receive critical medical care.
From the comic: An empty execution chair travels from TDOC toward the ER, making the institution the subject. The direction sign and medical symbol frame the shift from an intention to end life to an effort to preserve it. The chair and shared hallway are editorial metaphors, not a depiction of Pike’s actual transport or the lethal-injection equipment. “Prior Authorization” gives that institutional reversal a bureaucratic title.
TDOC: September 30 statement confirming transport to an off-site medical facility
Breaking News: TN inmate Christa Pike is awake after her botched execution
HOA News: Pike is held by 2 opposing but equally flawed systems, DOC and US healthcare