Death row inmate Christa Pike, who survived two lethal injections, has been discharged from hospital and returned to custody, her legal team has confirmed. Pike, 50, is now back at the Deborah K. Johnson Rehabilitation Centre, the women's prison where she had been housed on death row for 30 years. She remains under medical supervision at the facility.
Legal team statement
Her solicitors stated on Saturday: "She is grateful to the first responders and her medical team for their care in these extraordinary circumstances. She is continuing to receive medical care at the prison, and we will continue to track her recovery."
Pike survived two administrations of pentobarbital as the state sought to execute her on 30 September for the 1995 beating and stabbing death of classmate Colleen Slemmer.
Failed execution details
Pike had been receiving treatment in hospital since the botched execution. At one stage, she required ventilation, and her legal representatives did not anticipate her survival, though they reported Pike regained consciousness and began talking and walking with support.
The Death Penalty Information Center states Pike is the first individual to survive after being administered lethal injection drugs during an execution. The Tennessee Department of Correction has not disclosed what malfunctioned during the execution.
IV line concerns
Medical and lethal injection specialists have concentrated on whether an issue with the IV line caused the drug to accumulate in her tissue rather than entering her bloodstream. Pike's legal team stated in a court document that "apparently at no point did any member of the execution team realise that the IV lines were not correctly placed."
When the procedure commenced, Pike was invited to make a final statement, to which she responded that she felt at peace. Approximately five minutes afterwards, she lifted her head and reported pain in her arm. Subsequently, she seemed to slip into unconsciousness but could be heard breathing laboriously until media observers were led out of the witness area nearly 90 minutes into the execution. An ambulance transported her to hospital.
Political reaction
Questions are also growing over what might occur should Tennessee attempt to execute Pike a second time. The state is due to elect a new governor in November, with Republican contender Marsha Blackburn presently leading in the polls to replace Bill Lee when his second term concludes.
Blackburn has already indicated the electric chair ought to be employed following the unsuccessful lethal injection. Addressing Pike's case, she stated: "While there should be a thorough review of what happened and why the process failed, the answer is simple: bring back the electric chair and deliver justice for these victims swiftly."
