A US death-row inmate survived an execution attempt after officials administered two doses of pentobarbital that failed to kill her, authorities said.
Christa Pike, 50, was taken to a hospital after the two doses were given during the procedure at Riverbend Maximum Security Institution in Nashville on Wednesday. She reportedly lost consciousness but continued to have a heartbeat, prompting her lawyers to file an emergency motion during the execution.
Witnesses said Pike complained to her spiritual adviser that the vein in her arm felt as though it was “about to burst open.” Another witness said they heard a sound suggesting Pike was “almost choking.” The curtain to the witness room was closed twice during the procedure.
Tennessee Governor Bill Lee ordered “a comprehensive, third-party review to determine exactly what occurred” and said the state’s remaining scheduled execution for the year would not proceed as planned.
The Tennessee Department of Correction said officials followed the state’s approved execution protocol, which provides for a second set of syringes if an inmate does not die after the first dose.
Pike was sentenced to death in 1996 for the 1995 murder of 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer. Pike was 18 at the time and has said she intended to beat Slemmer but did not intend to kill her, describing herself then as “a mentally ill 18-year-old kid.”
The failed execution is the second in Tennessee this year to be disrupted. In May, Tony Carruthers’ execution was postponed after officials were unable to find a suitable vein for administering the lethal drug.
The US Supreme Court had allowed Pike’s execution to proceed following a last-minute legal challenge. Authorities are investigating what went wrong during Wednesday’s procedure.
