US murderer Christa Pike unconscious after failed execution
Tennessee death row inmate Christa Pike, 50, is unconscious and on a ventilator after authorities failed to execute her with two lethal pentobarbital doses.
Stock photo for illustration only, not from the actual event
- Christa Pike, 50, survived a lethal injection execution attempt in Tennessee on Wednesday.
- Lawyers state Pike is currently unconscious and on a ventilator at a Nashville-area hospital.
- Prison officials used at least seven needles and bent one during the botched procedure.
- Tennessee Governor Bill Lee ordered an independent review and halted all state executions for the year.
Tennessee death row inmate Christa Pike remained unconscious, intubated, and on a ventilator on Thursday night after authorities failed to carry out her execution by lethal injection, according to court filings submitted by her defense attorneys.
Pike, aged 50, was administered two lethal doses of pentobarbital on Wednesday but remarkably stayed alive. She was subsequently rushed via ambulance to a hospital in the Nashville area, where medical staff are fighting to save her life and flush the drug from her system.
According to her lawyers' court documents, prison staff struggled to establish intravenous lines, attempting to use at least seven needles on Pike. At one point, Pike even offered suggestions on where they could try. One specific needle was found bent at a 90-degree angle when removed. Witnesses and attorneys noted she could be heard crying and breathing loudly throughout the ordeal.
"One needle was bent in a 90-degree angle when it was removed."
Court filing by Christa Pike's lawyers
Dr. Zivot explained that her survival likely stemmed from insufficient blood levels of pentobarbital to cause death, while blisters suggested a ruptured vein. Instead of entering the bloodstream, the drug likely spread into underlying tissue, compounded by Pike's thrombocytosis which may have caused blood clots at the injection site.
This botched execution highlights ongoing national debates regarding the ethical and practical challenges of lethal injection protocols in the United States. Because medical professionals are typically barred from participating in executions due to ethical oaths, prison staff often perform these complex procedures, leading to severe complications when accessing compromised veins in distressed inmates.
Stock photo for illustration only, not from the actual event
In response to the incident, Tennessee Governor Bill Lee ordered an independent investigation into the botched execution and halted all scheduled executions in the state for the remainder of the year. Authorities have yet to provide explanations regarding what went wrong or whether they will attempt to execute Pike again.
Pike remains the sole female on Tennessee's death row. She was 18 when she and her former boyfriend, Tadaryl Shipp, tortured and killed 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer in 1995, receiving her death sentence the following year while Shipp received life imprisonment due to being a minor at the time.
Source: BBC World
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