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What was the mystery object placed on execution chamber ledge moments after Christa Pike was given lethal injection?
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Witnesses have revealed that an object was put on the ledge of Christa Gail Pike's execution chamber during her lethal injection attempts.
Pike was set to become the first woman in over 200 years to be executed in Tennessee, 30 years after murdering 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer.
However, two attempts to administer the lethal injection failed to end her life, and she is still alive.
A health expert had explained that a certain health condition may explain how she survived both execution attempts on Wednesday (September 30), while it's been suggested that she may not be executed after all.
Following the incident, Tennessee Governor Bill Lee ordered a pause on all state executions for the remainder of the year while an independent review takes place.
Now, it's been revealed that there was an item put in the chamber.
What was the mystery object?
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 signed, 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.
Pike, 50, would survive both doses, leaving the hospital in an ambulance.
Second attempt at the lethal injection
After a second dose was administered, Pike could be seen looking around and smiling before admitting that her arm was hurting, stating: "My arm feels like it's about to burst open," before asking if this was normal.
The curtain was once again closed at 8:06 PM, with Pike heard from behind the curtain.
Witnesses noted that it sounded like she was snoring in a regular breathing pattern.
Pike's attorney, Randy Spivey, would tell the media 16 minutes later that he wanted to contact other lawyers on the team, demanding that the execution be halted.
At 8:50 PM, it was confirmed that an ambulance was en route, and three minutes later, prison officials announced: “Will witnesses please exit the area.”