Christa Pike, the 50-year-old death row inmate, remains alive and in a critical condition after a failed execution attempt on Wednesday evening. She received life-saving medical treatment after surviving two full doses of pentobarbital, a lethal drug, during the botched procedure at the Riverbend Maximum Security Institution in Nashville.
Lawyers condemn the state's actions
Pike's solicitor, Randy Spivey, condemned the state of Tennessee over the bungled execution, branding it "inefficient, cruel, and torturous." Speaking at a press conference on Thursday, Spivey said, "Christa is alive. We don't have a sense of her prognosis or much update on her health."
Spivey claimed that the execution team spent an hour attempting to locate a vein. "I counted at least seven needles used in her left arm alone," he said. One of the needles appeared to be bent when it was pulled from her left arm after an unsuccessful attempt.
Pike cooperated during the attempt
Stephen Ferrell, Pike's other solicitor, said she repeatedly assisted the execution team, directing them on where to locate IV lines. "Ms Pike was not just cooperative, but was trying to help instruct the people placing the IV lines of where they could find them," Ferrell said. "She over and over again said, 'Please, try up on my shoulder higher. Please, try here, please try here. I think it will be Okay,' and she thanked them, at least when they thought they had established a line."
"Ms Pike was kind, she was cooperative, and she was at peace the whole time," Ferrell added.
Blisters and burns reported
Spivey said there was "blistering and burning" around areas of Pike's arms where she was injected. Prison officials repeatedly closed the window curtains to shield the death chamber from media and other witnesses, including Pike's legal team and her spiritual adviser. "The media was left in a dark room clearly hearing Christa breathe and choke and struggle while the state worked in secrecy," Spivey added.
Pike had been on death row for the brutal murder of Colleen Slemmer in January 1995. She was convicted the following year and was set to become the first woman to be executed in the US state in 200 years.
Governor suspends executions
Spivey described the botched execution as predictable, saying Pike's legal team had informed the court and the state that her medical conditions would result in an agonising death. The lawyer has urged Tennessee Governor Bill Lee to commute Pike's death sentence to life imprisonment.
Lee has suspended all executions in the state for the remainder of the year and ordered an independent review into Pike's attempted execution. However, Spivey said Lee's actions fall short of what is needed. "After having endured solitary confinement for more than 20 years and a full attempt to kill her by lethal injection, Christa has endured punishment greater than any other person in the history of the American death penalty," he said.
