Death row inmate Christa Pike survived an attempted execution in Tennessee after she was administered two doses of the lethal injection drug, according to her legal team. She was subsequently taken to a nearby hospital for medical attention.
Pike, 50, was scheduled to be executed at the Riverbend Maximum Security Institution in Nashville at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, September 30. The execution was initially delayed following a last-minute stay before the US Supreme Court cleared the way for it to proceed later in the day.
According to witnesses, the execution process lasted unusually long, with the curtains to the execution chamber being closed several times.
Associated Press journalist Kim Chandler, who witnessed the proceedings, said Pike appeared to remain conscious after the lethal injection was administered.
“I would say that Pike appeared noticeably awake as the execution began,” Chandler said.
She added that Pike’s mouth fell open several times and that she appeared to gasp and later snore loudly.
“The curtain to the execution chamber closed for the final time at 8:06pm, and she could be heard loudly snoring, clearly very alive,” Chandler said.
Pike’s attorneys later filed an emergency petition seeking to halt the execution, alleging that she had received two syringes of pentobarbital but remained alive.
“Ms Pike has not lost consciousness and still has a heartbeat and is audibly snoring,” her lawyers wrote.
Her legal team said she required “immediate medical care” and later confirmed that she had been taken to a nearby hospital, although they said they did not have information about her condition.
Pike was sentenced to death for the 1995 murder of Colleen Slemmer, a fellow student who was 19 at the time. Pike was 18 when the killing occurred.
Before the execution, Pike’s lawyers had raised concerns about the procedure, citing difficult vein access and other medical issues. They later accused Tennessee authorities of failing to carry out a lawful execution.
“We take no pleasure in being right, but the concerns raised by Ms Pike proved to be true,” the lawyers said.
However, the Tennessee Department of Correction said its staff had followed the approved state procedure.
“The lethal injection chemical in the protocol has consistently been effective, and the protocol does not allow for additional procedures beyond what was carried out this evening,” a state spokesperson said.
Following the incident, Tennessee suspended executions for the remainder of the year pending an investigation.
