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Pike, 50, was taken from the execution chamber to a hospital on Wednesday night after she survived two injections of the lethal drug pentobarbital.
Photo provided by the Tennessee Department of Correction shows convicted US murderer Christa Pike.
US death row inmate Christa Pike is in critical condition and receiving “life-saving care” after surviving an execution in Tennessee that went badly wrong, her lawyer said on Thursday.
Pike, 50, was taken from the execution chamber to a hospital on Wednesday night after she survived two injections of the lethal drug pentobarbital.
“What we have been told is that she is in critical condition, receiving life-saving care,” her lawyer Randy Spivey said during a virtual news conference. He declined to provide further details about her condition.
Lawyer urges governor to spare Pike
Spivey urged Tennessee Governor Bill Lee to commute Pike’s death sentence after the failed execution.
“After having endured solitary confinement for more than 20 years and a full attempt to kill her by lethal injection, Christa has endured punishment greater than any other person in the history of the American death penalty,” he said.
“The governor must commute Christa’s sentence now,” he added.
Pike’s lawyers had previously challenged the state’s execution procedure, warning that difficulties with her veins and a blood condition could lead to complications while administering the lethal drugs.
Lawyer Stephen Ferrell said medical experts had warned that an IV could become dislodged or pierce the vein, causing the drugs to enter surrounding tissue rather than the bloodstream.
Witnesses saw Pike remain conscious
Media witnesses said Pike appeared awake after the execution began and at one point asked prison officials whether what she was experiencing was normal.
She later began snoring. An Associated Press witness said Pike was “loudly snoring, clearly very alive” when journalists left the viewing area.
Spivey said he saw Pike’s right arm turn purple after the second injection. He also said several attempts had been made to establish an IV, with at least seven needles used in her left arm.
Pike’s lawyer said she had not feared death itself, but feared a prolonged and painful execution.
Tennessee orders review
The Tennessee Department of Correction said it followed the state’s established execution protocol and confirmed that Pike was taken to an off-site medical facility.
Governor Lee has ordered a comprehensive third-party review of the failed execution and said Tennessee’s next scheduled execution would not take place this year.
Pike was sentenced to death for the 1995 killing of 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer, whom Pike and her boyfriend beat to death when Pike was 18.
Pike’s lawyers had sought clemency, citing her age at the time of the crime, mental health issues and a history of childhood sexual abuse.
Death penalty experts described the incident as unprecedented. The Death Penalty Information Center said Pike was the first person known to survive after being injected with lethal doses during an execution.
(With inputs from AFP)
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Ask News18Christa Pike survived two injections of pentobarbital during her scheduled execution after medical staff struggled to establish an intravenous line, using at least seven needles in her left arm. Witnesses reported that she remained conscious, asked if what she was experiencing was normal, and was later heard loudly snoring before being transported to a hospital in critical condition.
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