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Lawyer shares previous botched execution that could help decide if Christa Pike lives or dies
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A lawyer has outlined one significant case from the past that could be the precedent for whether Christa Pike lives or dies.
Pike, who survived a botched execution this week, remains in hospital ‘unresponsive’, but no-one knows whether her death sentence will be attempted again, or if she will spend the rest of her life in prison - should she be able to.
Christa Pike is far from the first botched execution case
Pike, who spent over 30 years on death row after being convicted of the horrific murder of Colleen Slemmer in 1995, was administered a potent set of drug injections aimed at ending her life.
However, it didn’t work out, and she was later rushed to hospital.
Witnesses to the execution - including Slemmer’s mother - described the horrific scene in the execution rooms, including complaints made by Pike about pain, her question about whether it was going to plan, and - ultimately - how the Tennessee Department of Corrections failed in their efforts to carry out the sentence.
Now, attention has turned to what happens next - will Pike go through the execution process again, or will she be allowed to return to prison if able?
Her lawyers issued an update on her condition, as well as an angry statement against her treatment - which they described as ‘chemical torture’ - and will seek to have her sentence commuted to life.
However, another lawyer has given a precedent from the past that could play a significant role in whether Pike lives or dies.
Willie Francis could unknowingly be involved in Christa Pike’s fate
Lawyer Jim Stinsman, who shares his advice on TikTok to his followers, found a case that could just help decide Pike’s future.
It’s a while back, but the principle is the same.
Stinsman recounted the tale of Willie Francis, who was set to be executed in the 1940s, but - like in this case - things didn’t go to plan.
He explained: “There's a lot of questions now. Are they allowed to take a second chance at this? Is it cruel and unusual under the Eighth Amendment? And is there any double jeopardy issues?
"All of this has been answered previously, but it was all a very long time ago.
"In the 40s, a gentleman by the name of Willie Francis was scheduled to be executed by way of electric chair.”
He continued: “They put him in, they turn the chair on, currents went through him, but it was unsuccessful.
“Ultimately it went all the way up to the Supreme Court, and the Supreme Court said this does not qualify as cruel and unusual for you to attempt this again.
"He was ultimately executed by way of electric chair a second time.”
So, the parallels between that case and the Pike case are there for all to see - but does this mean that Pike will simply have another execution date to see if they can do it properly next time?
Like all matters like this, it may not be that simple.
Stinsman explained: “If they were to apply this exact same standard, albeit a very old standard, this would be allowed to move forward again.
"I do think, however, there are good new arguments to suggest that this would qualify as cruel and unusual, given the fact that the exact issue was briefed and put into the arguments for the last-minute motion to try to persuade the court not to carry on with the execution yesterday.
"They argued in that that she has a condition where her veins were very small and it was going to be painful to administer this.
“Ultimately, at least her defense team's arguing, that because of the size of her veins, that's why this failed, and they said, ‘we hate being right, but we told you so.’
"There are other cases, although they never went up ultimately to the Supreme Court, in more recent times where a botched attempt has resulted in an agreement from the state with the defense team saying we're not going to proceed and we're going to instead switch it to a life sentence.
"I'm sure her team is going to make all of these arguments to try to convert this to a life sentence, but there is not any type of case law out there to suggest at this time that once you attempt, you can no longer attempt again.”
What does this mean for Pike’s case?
Well, at the end of the day, we don’t currently know whether Pike is fit to go to prison, face the execution team again, or anything at all.
Once that becomes clear, her fate will be decided.
If they choose to go with this precedent, she could end up strapped to the gurney once again, but if they decide that she has suffered enough, she’ll go back to prison, this time without the spectre of impending execution.
When it all comes down to it, we’ll have to wait for the state’s decision and Pike's condition.