Christa Pike’s attorneys say she remains alive but is in critical condition after her execution by lethal injection failed, and they are calling on Tennessee’s governor to commute her death sentence.
Pike, 50, is receiving emergency medical treatment after prison officials used at least seven needles during the botched execution in Nashville overnight, her legal team said at a news conference Thursday.
She has spent 30 years on death row after being convicted of the 1995 killing of Colleen Slemmer, a fellow student at Knoxville’s Jobs Corps program.
“Christa is alive. We don’t have much of a sense of her prognosis or an update on her health,” said Randy Spivey of the Tennessee Office of the Post-Conviction Defender. He said Pike suffered blistering and burning around the injection site.
Spivey described a chaotic scene inside the prison. Pike was injected repeatedly as officials tried to deliver the lethal drug, including with a syringe that reportedly bent while being removed from her arm.
After receiving the first dose, which was expected to kill her, Pike continued singing and offering blessings to people in the witness room, according to her attorney.
At one point, Pike allegedly thanked the medical team administering pentobarbital and suggested they try to access a vein near her shoulder.
Her spiritual adviser was present in the execution chamber but was removed for portions of the procedure, her attorney said, describing the night as cruel and torturous.
Christa Pike remains in critical condition and is receiving lifesaving treatment after at least seven needles were used during her failed execution, according to her attorneys
Pike attorney Randy Spivey said seven needles were used, including one that bent as it was withdrawn from her arm
“Last night was not just inefficient. It was cruel, and it was torturous. It was also predictable,” Spivey said Thursday.
“[Pike] was not just cooperative, but was trying to help instruct the people placing the IV lines.
“She over and over again said, ‘Please try up on my shoulder higher. Please try here, I think it will be okay.’”
Pike was still alive Wednesday night after officials administered two syringes of pentobarbital at Riverbend Maximum Security Institution in Nashville.
At 7:27 p.m. Wednesday, officials opened the curtains to the execution chamber, revealing Pike strapped to a gurney.
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In what were intended to be her final remarks, Pike said, “I’m going to leave this world the way I spent most of my life, and that is in love.” She also said she was at peace.
However, Pike remained conscious. At one point, she lifted her head and asked prison officials whether her arm was supposed to feel the way it did. It was not clear what she meant.
Witnesses reported that the second dose of pentobarbital had been administered by 8:26 p.m.
Pike could be heard snoring behind the closed curtain until the microphone was switched off at 8:53 p.m. Witnesses were then escorted from the area.
Her attorneys said Pike was subsequently taken by ambulance to a hospital.
Her lawyers claimed that during the botched execution, communication with Pike was difficult for 40 minutes after the first dose was administered.
Pike allegedly tried to help the medical professionals as they administered the drugs, thanked them and sang in the room
Pike had been on death row for 30 years since she was convicted of the 1995 murder of her Knoxville Jobs Corp classmate Colleen Slemmer (pictured)
‘I had no idea when or if medical professionals began to assist Christa,’ Spivey said.
He said it took seven minutes and six locked doors for him to communicate with his legal team.
‘I did not get any information or confirmation that an ambulance was on its way until 8.50,’ Spivey said.
Her lawyers expect another update on her condition within the next 24 hours.
The attorneys have called on Governor Bill Lee to commute her sentence and said they hope Pike pulls through so they can discuss her next steps.
‘We want to think this through, and we want to make sure that Christa recovers and has some input in what she wants,’ said Stephen Ferrell with the Federal Defender Services of Eastern Tennessee.