Update in Christa Pike case as impact botched execution had on her body is revealed

Authorities have provided updates on the Christa Pike case after she survived two attempts to administer the lethal injection.

Pike, 50, was in line to become the first woman in over 200 years to be executed in Tennessee, 31 years after murdering 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer.

A health expert explained that a certain health condition may be the reason behind her surviving both execution attempts on Wednesday (September 30).

It's been suggested that she may not be executed after all, due to her poor health as a result of the botched execution attempts.

Following the attempts, Tennessee Governor Bill Lee ordered a pause on all state executions for the remainder of the year while an independent review takes place, as Pike became the second inmate to survive a lethal injection dose this year.

According to Pike's attorneys, she is being treated in a hospital, while a spokesperson for the Tennessee Department of Corrections confirmed she was ’transported to an off-site medical facility'.

Now, more updates on Pike have been shared.

Christa Pike survived two lethal injection attempts. Credit: Tennessee Department of Corrections

Tennessee's prisons chief resigns after botched execution

Tennessee Governor Bill Lee announced on Saturday (October 3) that the head of Tennessee’s prison system is resigning, following the failed execution of Christa Pike.

According to Tennessee Department of Correction Commissioner Frank Strada, stepping aside 'is in the best interests' of the state, as per CNN.

The decision comes as an independent review is carried out to find out why Pike's execution failed.

Pike was set to become the first woman in over 200 years to be executed in Tennessee, but two attempts to administer the lethal injection failed to end her life.

According to her lawyers, doctors were working to save her life, as of Thursday.

The 50-year-old was convicted 30 years ago after killing fellow Job Corps student Colleen Slemmer.

Pike sustained injuries during the process

An emergency court filing from Pike's attorneys said that her arms were 'swollen, burned and blistered' when she arrived at a hospital after the failed execution attempt on Wednesday.

The motion was filed in Davidson County Chancery Court on Friday, and it alleges issues with IV access caused the lethal injection drug to leak into surrounding tissue.

The execution team had struggled to establish an IV line for over an hour during the execution.

It was reported that after the first dose of the lethal injection, Pike said: “My arm feels like it is about to burst open.”

Then she asked: “Does this happen like that?”

Her legal team has asked a judge to instruct the Tennessee Department of Correction to preserve all evidence related to the attempt.

While an expedited hearing has been granted, a date and time have not been set.

Pike's legal team say she is receiving treatment due to the effects of pentobarbital administered during the execution attempt.

The motion states: "Hospital staff are working to save Ms. Pike’s life and to clear the pentobarbital from her system."

Christa Pike remains in hospital after the botched execution attempt. Credit: Death Penalty Information Center

Mystery item placed on execution room ledge

According to the Associated Press, which had a reporter among the witnesses, Pike was strapped to the gurney with an intravenous line inserted into her arm when officials raised the curtain to the execution room, shortly before 7:30 PM.

“I’m ready to be free,” she reportedly said at the time. “This is a happy day.”

At 7:37 PM, Pike sighed, with the IV in her arm being fed from a control room next door, separated by a ledge.

Four minutes later, a 'rock or paperweight about the size of a golf ball was placed on the ledge', according to the publication.

The meaning behind this move hasn't been explained by prison officials, but its placement appeared to signal that the drugs had been administered, as per the protocol.

A five-minute countdown would then begin before the curtain is shut.

At 7:46 PM, officials shut the curtain, with witnesses unable to view the death chamber, while Pike's spiritual advisor was also told to leave the chamber and sit with Pike's attorney in the media witness room.

But three minutes later, the curtain rose, with the Tennessee lethal injection protocol calling for a second round of the lethal injection drug (pentobarbital) if the first attempt was unsuccessful.

She would survive both rounds before being rushed to the hospital in an ambulance.

Featured image credit: Tennessee Department of Corrections