Christa Pike’s lawyers share statement addressing why death row inmate’s execution failed
A comprehensive review will ‘determine exactly what occurred’
Tennessee death row inmate Christa Pike is still alive after two lethal injections, and her lawyers have now spoken out about the possible reason her execution failed.
She was due to be executed at the Riverbend Maximum Security Institution in Nashville at around 8pm local time on Wednesday, 30th September, but her legal team filed an emergency motion to stop the execution while it was happening after she was given two doses of a legal drug and was still awake.
“Ms Pike has lost consciousness and still has a heartbeat and is audibly snoring,” her legal team said. During the execution, Pike complained about arm pain. She was rushed to a local hospital late on Wednesday.
Pike, 50, was sentenced to death on 30th March 1996 for a crime she committed when she was 18 years old. She tortured and killed her classmate Colleen Slemmer in a jealous rage because she thought she was trying to steal her boyfriend at the time, Tadaryl Shipp. She is the first woman in Tennessee to be executed in 200 years.
Credit: Tennessee Department of Corrections
In a statement, her legal team blamed difficult vein access and degraded drugs for the failed execution attempt. They had previously highlighted that her small veins would be a problem. This hasn’t been confirmed, and Tennessee Governor Bill Lee said he has ordered “a comprehensive, third-party review to determine exactly what occurred”.
“Tonight the State of Tennessee once again failed to carry out a lawful execution. We take no pleasure in being right, but the concerns raised by Ms Pike proved to be true: difficult vein access, blown veins, degraded pentobarbital, no emergency medical care available when things inevitably go wrong, all under a protocol that remains veiled in secrecy,” attorneys Randy Spivey and Kelly Gleason said, as per ABC.
The Tennessee Department of Correction stands by all the actions taken during the execution and claims the protocol used is “effective”.
Department spokesperson Dorinda Carter said: “The Tennessee Department of Correction followed every step of the State’s lawful, established execution protocol approved by the Attorney General’s Office. 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. Christa Pike has been transported to an off-site medical facility.”
Credit: Tennessee Department of Corrections
Shipp and Pike lured 19-year-old Slemmer into the woods, beat her for 30 minutes, carved a pentagram into her chest and forehead and killed her by smashing her head with a large piece of asphalt. They both confessed to the killing and were convicted of first-degree murder. Pike was sentenced to death, while Shipp was given a life sentence with the possibility of parole.
For more, like The Tab on Facebook. Featured image credit: Tennessee Department of Corrections
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