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Christa Pike’s lawyers warned of a problem that could make her execution fail before she survived two lethal injections
Christa Pike's lawyers had warned before her execution that one particular medical issue could make it difficult for Tennessee officials to administer the lethal injection just days before she ultimately survived two doses of the drug.
The 50-year-old death row inmate was due to be executed at Riverbend Maximum Security Institution in Nashville on Wednesday, September 30, but the procedure descended into chaos after Pike remained alive following two doses of pentobarbital in what is said to be an unprecedented situation.
Lawyers had warned of medical condition
Her lawyers filed an emergency motion during the execution, claiming she had not lost consciousness and was still showing signs of life.
“Ms Pike has lost consciousness and still has a heartbeat and is audibly snoring,” her lawyers claimed.
Additionally, Pike was also heard complaining about pain in her arm during the procedure before eventually being taken to a local hospital.
In the lead-up to her execution, Pike’s lawyers had raised concerns about Pike's veins, arguing that she had difficult vein access that could make it challenging for execution officials to administer the lethal drug.
Following the failed execution, attorneys Randy Spivey and Kelly Gleason pointed to several issues they had warned about in advance.
“Tonight the State of Tennessee once again failed to carry out a lawful execution. We take no pleasure in being right, but the concerns raised by Ms Pike proved to be true: difficult vein access, blown veins, degraded pentobarbital, no emergency medical care available when things inevitably go wrong, all under a protocol that remains veiled in secrecy,” they claimed.
While Pike's lawyers’ claims about the cause of the failed execution have not been independently confirmed, Tennessee Governor Bill Lee has ordered an investigation into exactly how it transpired that the procedure failed, saying he wants “a comprehensive, third-party review to determine exactly what occurred”.
The Tennessee Department of Correction has defended the procedure and insisted officials followed the state's established protocol.
Department spokesperson Dorinda Carter said: “The Tennessee Department of Correction followed every step of the State’s lawful, established execution protocol approved by the Attorney General’s Office. The lethal injection chemical in the protocol has consistently been effective, and the protocol does not allow for additional procedures beyond what was carried out this evening. Christa Pike has been transported to an off-site medical facility.”
The incident has now raised renewed questions about Tennessee's execution procedures and whether Pike's previously documented concerns about her veins played a role.
The exact reason Pike survived the injections, however, remains unclear and is expected to be examined as part of the review ordered by Gov. Lee, with Pike initially expected to be the first woman in over 200 years in the state to be executed.
Pike's brutal murder of Slemmer
Pike was sentenced to death in 1996, after being convicted of murdering her classmate Colleen Slemmer, after Pike and her then-boyfriend Tadaryl Shipp were accused of luring Slemmer in a planned attack over relationship tensions.
Prosecutors said the pair attacked Slemmer and that she was beaten for around 30 minutes before being killed with a large piece of asphalt.
The disturbing case also involved a pentagram being carved into Slemmer's body, while a piece of her skull was reportedly taken after the murder.
Pike and Shipp both confessed to their involvement and were convicted of first-degree murder, with Pike being sentenced to death, while Shipp, who wasn’t legally eligible for execution at the time of the crime, received a life sentence with the possibility of parole.
For now, the state has not announced exactly what its next steps will be following the failed execution, but Gov. Lee has confirmed that there will be no further executions in the state this year, with Pike’s looking increasingly like it will be delayed further.