Newly released 911 dispatch recordings show that emergency help for Christa Pike was delayed by 31 minutes after she survived two lethal injections during her failed execution in Tennessee. The recordings, obtained by The Associated Press, reveal that officials and first responders struggled to determine whether an appeal for urgent assistance from the execution chamber was genuine.
Confusion over emergency call
The first call came through at 8:40 p.m., but prison authorities did not verify its authenticity until 9:11 p.m. During that time, an unidentified person said at 9:03 p.m.: "Per supervisors here .... we have been informed it is a false call. There is no medical assistance needed at Riverbend Prison."
Four minutes later, a responder stated: "Somebody is outside the gate at the prison telling us that it's real and demanding us to go in. They say they are some sort of state official. I need somebody to get out to the gate and talk to those people."
Background of the case
Pike, now 50, was scheduled to be executed on Wednesday 30 September, but she survived two lethal doses of pentobarbital and was rushed to hospital. She was due to be the first woman put to death in Tennessee in over two centuries. In January 1995, aged 18, Pike lured fellow pupil Colleen Slemmer to an isolated area of the University of Tennessee campus and killed her, having suspected Slemmer harboured romantic feelings for her boyfriend. Pike's boyfriend Tadaryl Shipp and their friend Shadolla Peterson were also convicted of involvement in Slemmer's murder.
Recovery and legal action
Pike's legal representatives confirmed last Wednesday that the inmate had been secured to the hospital bed in a closely supervised room and felt "confused and angry". Her lawyer Randy Spivey told reporters outside the Tennessee courthouse that Pike was "very aware that the state tried to execute her". Spivey recounted that Pike asked two immediate questions upon regaining consciousness: "Where am I and who are you?".
By Thursday, she was reportedly walking around her hospital room. It is believed a ruptured vein caused most of the lethal pentobarbital to accumulate in her tissue, preventing the chemicals from entering her bloodstream. Following her discharge from hospital on Saturday, Pike's legal representatives said: "She is grateful to the first responders and her medical team for their care in these extraordinary circumstances." They added: "She is continuing to receive medical care at the prison, and we will continue to track her recovery." Pike's solicitors were pushing for her to be taken off death row and for her sentence to be commuted to life imprisonment following the botched execution.
