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Graphic simulation shows what the last 24 hours of death row prisoners looks like ahead of Christa Pike's expected execution today
A simulation has shown what death row prisoners typically experience in the last 24 hours before their execution, as Christa Pike is set to be put to death today.
Pike, 50, was just 18 when she was sentenced to life on death row after she tortured and killed fellow student Collen Slemmer, 19, with the help of her boyfriend Tadaryl Shipp in 1995. She is set to receive the lethal injection today, September 30.
The first woman set to be executed in Tennessee in more than 200 years has asked for her death sentence to be served in a very particular way.
The murderer has requested an all-female execution crew administer her lethal injection, citing past sexual abuse as the reason she does not want any men involved in her final moments.
Regardless of the impending lethal injection, Christa’s lawyers fought to spare her life until the very last minute by asking Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee to grant her clemency and offer her a sentence to life without parole. However, their attempts failed, and today she receives her final punishment.
What is happening to Christa Pike in her final hours?
After spending more than 30 years locked up, the time has finally come for Pike to face up to her sentence, but what will her final 24 hours look and feel like?
In a YouTube video posted by an account called Cipher, a graphic simulation shows what the last 24 hours of a prisoner on Death Row looks like, and it's not pretty.
At around 24 hours before the lethal injection is set to be administered, the prisoner is moved from their usual cell to a more secure location closer to the execution chamber. The last time the inmate will ever see sunlight is the moment they step out of the transportation vehicle, which is usually in a convoy with security staff.
After eating a very plain breakfast, if they wish, the prisoner is allowed highly supervised visits from friends, family, lawyers, or the press. Often the soon-to-be-executed criminal requests to see a chaplain and make a couple of last prayers.
While death row inmates famously receive one final extravagant meal, it depends on the state they are in, as some, such as Texas, banned the tradition in 2011 after one inmate ordered an extortionate amount of food that went uneaten.
How does the lethal injection work?
A few hours later, after coming face to face with their fate, the prisoner is taken to the execution chamber ready for the lethal injection to be administered. The narrator of the simulation explained the inmate is first secured to a gurney before intravenous lines are inserted into their arms.
The first drug administered is pentobarbital, a barbiturate sedative that is used to cause drowsiness.
They said: "As it enters the bloodstream, it acts on neurotransmitters in the brain, slowing down communication between brain cells. This impairs the brain's control over the respiratory and cardiovascular systems, leading to a decrease in breathing and heart rate.”
Then the second drug given is pancuronium bromide, a paralytic agent that causes complete skeletal muscle paralysis, including the muscles needed for breathing, ultimately leading to respiratory arrest.
The final drug is potassium chloride, which disrupts the heart’s ionic balance, causing cardiac arrhythmia and arrest.
Chillingly, the video explained how Pike will succumb to death, saying: "The brain, already starved of oxygen from respiratory failure, quickly succumbs to catastrophic irreversible damage. The heart stops within about a minute of the potassium chloride injection."