diff --git a/.github/workflows/deploy-aws-fargate.yml b/.github/workflows/deploy-aws-fargate.yml
index a08a764d4..4db561048 100644
--- a/.github/workflows/deploy-aws-fargate.yml
+++ b/.github/workflows/deploy-aws-fargate.yml
@@ -12,8 +12,12 @@
 #   - ECR_REPOSITORY: ECR repository name
 #
 # Triggered by:
-#   - Manual workflow dispatch only (push trigger disabled — Fargate is not the primary compute platform)
+#   - Manual workflow dispatch only (push trigger disabled; Fargate is not the primary compute platform)
 #   - Workflow call from deploy-all.yml
+#
+# Lock cleanup is intentionally manual. If a prior run crashed and left a stuck
+# lock, re-run this workflow with clear_stale_lock=true (workflow_dispatch only).
+# See runbooks/terraform-stuck-lock.md for diagnosis and manual recovery steps.
 
 name: Deploy to AWS Fargate
 
@@ -33,6 +37,11 @@ on:
         required: true
         type: choice
         options: [dev, staging, prod]
+      clear_stale_lock:
+        description: 'Force-clear a stale S3 state lock from a prior crashed run (use only when you know the prior run is dead)'
+        required: false
+        type: boolean
+        default: false
   workflow_call:
     inputs:
       environment:
@@ -105,18 +114,28 @@ jobs:
         with:
           terraform_version: ${{ env.TF_VERSION }}
 
-      - name: Terraform Init
+      - name: Clear stale state lock (operator-triggered only)
+        if: ${{ inputs.clear_stale_lock == true }}
         env:
           TF_BACKEND: ${{ secrets.TF_BACKEND_AWS }}
           ENVIRONMENT: ${{ needs.prepare.outputs.environment }}
         run: |
           printf '%s\nkey = "github-fargate-%s/terraform.tfstate"\n' "$TF_BACKEND" "$ENVIRONMENT" > /tmp/backend.tfbackend
-          # Break any stale state lock from a previous failed run
           BUCKET=$(grep -E '^\s*bucket\s*=' /tmp/backend.tfbackend 2>/dev/null | tr -d ' "' | cut -d= -f2)
           if [ -n "$BUCKET" ]; then
             LOCK_KEY="github-fargate-${ENVIRONMENT}/terraform.tfstate.tflock"
-            aws s3 rm "s3://${BUCKET}/${LOCK_KEY}" 2>/dev/null || true
+            echo "Removing stale lock: s3://${BUCKET}/${LOCK_KEY}"
+            aws s3 rm "s3://${BUCKET}/${LOCK_KEY}" 2>/dev/null || echo "No lock file found (already clean)"
+          else
+            echo "Could not parse bucket from backend config; skipping lock clear"
           fi
+
+      - name: Terraform Init
+        env:
+          TF_BACKEND: ${{ secrets.TF_BACKEND_AWS }}
+          ENVIRONMENT: ${{ needs.prepare.outputs.environment }}
+        run: |
+          printf '%s\nkey = "github-fargate-%s/terraform.tfstate"\n' "$TF_BACKEND" "$ENVIRONMENT" > /tmp/backend.tfbackend
           cd terraform/environments/aws
           terraform init -backend-config=/tmp/backend.tfbackend
 
@@ -138,17 +157,14 @@ jobs:
           cd terraform/environments/aws
           terraform apply -auto-approve tfplan
 
-      - name: Release state lock on failure
-        if: failure() || cancelled()
-        env:
-          ENVIRONMENT: ${{ needs.prepare.outputs.environment }}
-        run: |
-          BUCKET=$(grep -E '^\s*bucket\s*=' /tmp/backend.tfbackend 2>/dev/null | tr -d ' "' | cut -d= -f2)
-          if [ -n "$BUCKET" ]; then
-            LOCK_KEY="github-fargate-${ENVIRONMENT}/terraform.tfstate.tflock"
-            echo "Releasing S3 state lock: s3://${BUCKET}/${LOCK_KEY}"
-            aws s3 rm "s3://${BUCKET}/${LOCK_KEY}" 2>/dev/null || echo "No lock file found (already clean)"
-          fi
+      # No automatic state-lock release on failure. A blanket failure-path
+      # delete is itself a state-corruption risk: a run that fails *because*
+      # it could not acquire the lock would delete the lock held by another
+      # run that is still actively applying. Terraform already releases its
+      # own lock on a clean apply error; a lock that survives a run means the
+      # run died abnormally, which requires operator confirmation that the
+      # owning run is dead before clearing it via the clear_stale_lock input.
+      # See runbooks/terraform-stuck-lock.md.
 
       - name: Get outputs
         id: outputs
diff --git a/runbooks/terraform-stuck-lock.md b/runbooks/terraform-stuck-lock.md
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..9ba286b2c
--- /dev/null
+++ b/runbooks/terraform-stuck-lock.md
@@ -0,0 +1,81 @@
+# Runbook: Terraform Stuck State Lock
+
+## Symptoms
+
+A Terraform workflow fails with an error similar to:
+
+```text
+Error: Error acquiring the state lock
+...
+Lock Info:
+  ID:        <lock-id>
+  Operation: OperationTypeApply
+  ...
+```
+
+or the S3 backend reports the `.tflock` object already exists from a prior run.
+
+## When this happens
+
+A lock file is left behind when a CI run is interrupted (runner killed, job
+canceled mid-apply, network error during apply). The workflow does NOT
+auto-delete the lock on failure: a blanket failure-path delete would itself
+risk state corruption, because a run that fails *because* it could not acquire
+the lock would delete the lock another run is still actively holding. Terraform
+releases its own lock on a clean apply error, so a lock that survives a run
+means that run died abnormally; clearing it requires operator confirmation that
+the owning run is dead.
+
+## Safe recovery steps
+
+Before clearing the lock, confirm the prior run that owns it is truly dead:
+
+1. Note the `Lock Info.ID` from the error output.
+2. In GitHub Actions, find the run that created the lock (check the timestamp in
+   `Lock Info.Created`). Verify its status is "Failed" or "Cancelled" -- not
+   still in progress.
+3. If the owning run is still running, do NOT clear the lock. Wait for it to
+   finish or cancel it explicitly first.
+
+## Clearing the lock via workflow dispatch
+
+Once you have confirmed the owning run is dead:
+
+1. Go to **Actions > Deploy to AWS Fargate > Run workflow**.
+2. Select the affected environment.
+3. Check **"Force-clear a stale S3 state lock from a prior crashed run"**.
+4. Click **Run workflow**.
+
+The `Clear stale state lock (operator-triggered only)` step will remove the
+`.tflock` object from S3 and then proceed with a normal deploy.
+
+## Manual recovery (AWS CLI)
+
+If you prefer to clear the lock outside CI:
+
+```bash
+# Replace <bucket> and <env> with the actual backend bucket and environment name
+BUCKET=<bucket>
+ENV=<env>
+LOCK_KEY="github-fargate-${ENV}/terraform.tfstate.tflock"
+
+aws s3 ls "s3://${BUCKET}/${LOCK_KEY}"   # confirm it exists
+aws s3 rm "s3://${BUCKET}/${LOCK_KEY}"   # remove it
+```
+
+Then re-run the deployment workflow normally (without `clear_stale_lock`).
+
+## Why locks are not cleared automatically
+
+Any unconditional lock delete (before `terraform init`, or in a blanket
+failure-path cleanup step) lets two concurrent deploys race: one run could
+remove another run's active lock, enabling parallel state writes and potential
+state corruption. A failure-path delete is especially dangerous because a run
+that fails *because* it lost the race to acquire the lock would then delete the
+winner's live lock. The lock must only be cleared when you know the holder is no
+longer active, which is why clearing is gated behind the operator-triggered
+`clear_stale_lock` input rather than an automatic step.
+
+Terraform releases its own lock on a clean apply error within the same run, so
+this gating only affects the rarer case where a run dies abnormally before that
+release happens.