Christa Pike, the 50-year-old death row inmate who survived her execution attempt on September 30, triggered a wave of confusion among police and dispatchers who initially believed the reports were a hoax.
Pike was administered two doses of pentobarbital for the 1995 stabbing of her love rival Colleen Slemmer, but she survived the botched procedure and was rushed to hospital with suspected brain damage.
911 dispatchers question the call
Police dispatch audio transcripts reveal that authorities and first responders scrambled to verify the legitimacy of the report. The first 911 call came in at 8.40pm, one hour after the attempted execution began.
“We've been carrying out an execution tonight. We've administered 10 grams of pentobarbital. The person is not yet deceased,” the caller said as they requested an ambulance.
At 8.59pm, the dispatcher contacted the Tennessee Department of Correction Central Control to check the call's authenticity.
“We are trying to find out if that is an actual thing that is happening and we need to send an ambulance… or if this is someone that is basically prank-calling,” she said.
The dispatcher was told nobody at the office had been informed of the botched execution, leading them to conclude: “We have been informed it is a false call…there is no medical assistance needed at Riverbend Prison.”
Confusion resolved, Pike hospitalised
After another 20 minutes of confusion between officers, the message finally got through. Ambulances and police vehicles were photographed outside the Riverbend Maximum Security Institution, and records show Pike was sent to a local hospital at 9.36pm.
The inmate was left on a ventilator for several days, with her attorneys not expecting her to survive. She regained consciousness last Tuesday in an “angry and confused” state, according to friends.
Pike was discharged from hospital and returned to the prison where she'd been housed for 30 years, her lawyers said Saturday.
Legal response and evidence preservation
“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,” her lawyers said.
On Wednesday, a judge ordered the state to preserve all evidence from her failed execution. Judge I'Ashea Myles said: “This case is unique to say the least. Take special care not to lose, misplace, or accidentally delete any information pertinent to this investigation.”
