Christa Pike survives two lethal injections: failed execution in Tennessee
The State of Tennessee “has failed to carry out a lawful execution” and the 50-year-old woman, convicted of murder, “is receiving treatment at a nearby hospital”. This was stated in a statement by Christa Pike’s lawyers
Christa Pike, the only woman to have been sentenced to death in Tennessee in over 200 years, survived the two lethal doses of pentobarbital administered during the execution. This was reported by journalists who witnessed the procedure. Following the failed attempt, Pike’s lawyers filed an urgent application to halt the execution.
Witnesses, including journalists from various US media outlets, described the procedure as taking much longer than expected, lasting from 7.00 pm to 8.56 pm local time. They report that Pike “remained awake, spoke and sang with her spiritual advisor after the drug was administered and, following the first dose, continued to move and breathe audibly”. Pike has been on death row in Tennessee since March 1996.
Execution failed, Christa Pike ‘admitted to hospital’
The State of Tennessee “has failed to carry out a lawful execution” and the 50-year-old woman, convicted of murder, “is receiving treatment at a nearby hospital”. In a statement, Christa Pike’s lawyers assert that ‘the concerns expressed by Ms Pike have proved to be well-founded: difficulty in locating a vein, collapsed veins, deteriorated pentobarbital, no emergency medical assistance available when something inevitably goes wrong, all within the framework of a protocol that remains shrouded in secrecy”.
