Witnesses have recalled the "haunting" moments of the failed execution attempt of Christa Pike as she remains in critical condition. US convicted murderer Pike is fighting for her life in hospital after Tennessee authorities failed to execute her by lethal injection, her lawyer says.
She was set to be executed on Wednesday after decades on death row but neither the initial nor backup dose of pentobarbital killed her.
Lawyer confirms she is alive
Lawyer Randy Spivey said on Thursday: "We don't have a sense of her prognosis or much update on her health at the moment." He added: "But we do know that she is alive right now."
Witnesses say Pike was snoring when the execution chamber's microphone was cut off more than an hour into the attempt. At least seven needles were used in her left arm alone, according to attorneys. They said she was looking around and complaining of a burning sensation as well as gasping for air.
Lawyers call it 'torture'
Her lawyers claim that the failed execution amounted to "torture", and they called for her death sentence to be commuted. Spivey said: "I'm haunted by last night. What I saw last night is not something that should ever, ever happen again."
Before the botched execution, the case of Pike had already been the subject of a high-profile legal battle, as just hours before the execution it was delayed though this was later overturned and the execution was permitted to proceed later that day by the US Supreme Court.
Background of the case
The 50-year-old was sentenced to death for killing Colleen Slemmer in 1995. Slemmer was killed at age 19, after being lured into an isolated area on the University of Tennessee agricultural campus. Pike was convicted alongside her boyfriend in 1996, and the court heard that there was a pentagram carved into Slemmer's chest and Pike kept a bit of her skull as a souvenir.
Slemmer's mother May Martinez, who was among those watching the execution, told NBC News the botched attempt "was a mess". Dr Joel Zivot, a professor at the Emory University School of Medicine, explained to the BBC Pike probably never achieved a sufficient blood level of pentobarbital to cause her breath to stop or heart failure. He added: "It's very possible that as a consequence of the delay of the beginning of resuscitation she will have a brain injury."
