Tennessee Lethal Injection Failure: Woman Survives After Two Doses of Lethal Drug; State Judge Orders All Execution Evidence Preserved
Christa Pike, 50, has become the only known death row inmate to survive a lethal injection. A Tennessee judge has ordered the state to preserve all evidence, and her attorneys have alleged that the execution team failed to notice that the IV line was improperly placed, while prison medical staff had requested that her shackles be removed but were denied. Governor Bill Lee, a Republican, rejected her clemency request two days before the execution.
A woman sentenced to death in Tennessee survived after being injected with two lethal doses of pentobarbital. According to a Deutsche Welle report, a Tennessee judge has ordered the state to preserve all evidence related to the botched execution.
Christa Pike, 50, was sentenced to death in 1995 for torturing and killing her classmate Colleen Slaymer. Nearly a week after the execution attempt, Pike awoke in the hospital. Attorney Randy Spivey said at a news conference that Pike is currently "very angry and confused about everything" and "very aware" of what she went through. Spivey noted that Pike's arms and hands are severely swollen and she can no longer move them, saying, "We don't know if her arms will regain any function." He added that Pike's road to recovery "is still long."
Pike's other attorney, Luke Inanen, revealed that prison medical personnel had requested that the shackles on Pike be removed, but the request was denied. Pike's legal team also demanded that prison authorities preserve all information about the execution, including the needles and the execution log. In court filings, the attorneys wrote: "Clearly no member of the execution team realized that the IV had not been placed correctly or that the vein had ruptured." Pike's legal team said her arms suffered burns and blisters from the injection of the drugs.
Pike is the only known person to have survived after being administered lethal injection drugs. According to the U.S. Death Penalty Information Center, there had previously been no documented cases of survival during a lethal injection execution. Experts believe the failed execution may have been caused by an IV line problem, which caused the drugs to accumulate in tissue rather than enter the bloodstream.
Republican Tennessee Governor Bill Lee rejected Pike's clemency request two days before the execution. Pike's legal team continues to demand that the governor reduce her sentence to life in prison and pledge not to attempt execution again.
Pike's recovery prospects and whether she will face execution again remain unclear.
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