Tennessee death row inmate Christa Pike was taken to hospital after an attempt to execute her by lethal injection failed, with her lawyers saying she remained alive after two doses of pentobarbital were administered.
Pike, 50, was scheduled to be executed at Riverbend Maximum Security Institution in Nashville at about 8pm local time on Wednesday. She was sentenced to death for the 1995 murder of 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer.
According to Pike’s legal team, she lost consciousness during the procedure but continued to have a heartbeat. Her lawyers filed an emergency motion seeking to halt the execution and obtain medical treatment.
One of Pike’s attorneys told the BBC that she was subsequently receiving life-saving treatment at a hospital. The attempted execution involved two doses of pentobarbital, according to the Associated Press. The witness-room curtain was reportedly closed twice during the procedure, while media representatives were later asked to leave.
Treatment Provided
District Judge Clifton L Corker issued a ruling noting that medical personnel had begun providing the treatment requested by Pike’s lawyers. Her legal team later said Tennessee had failed to carry out a lawful execution, pointing to what it described as difficulties accessing veins. As well as concerns over the execution protocol and medical response.
The Tennessee Department of Correction rejected those claims and said officials had followed the state’s approved execution procedure.
“The Tennessee Department of Correction followed every step of the State’s lawful, established execution protocol approved by the Attorney General’s Office,” department spokesperson Dorinda Carter told the Tennessean.
Carter said the lethal injection chemical used in the protocol had consistently been effective. Further stating that the procedure did not permit additional steps beyond those carried out. She confirmed that Pike had been taken to an off-site medical facility.
Dr Joel Zivot, an Emory University School of Medicine professor who served as a medical expert for Pike’s legal team, said she may not have received enough pentobarbital into her bloodstream to cause the respiratory and cardiovascular failure normally expected during an execution. He also warned that delays in resuscitation could result in brain injury.
The execution attempt went ahead after several last-minute legal challenges failed. The US Supreme Court rejected one appeal earlier in the process. They also later overturned a temporary reprieve granted by a lower court.
