A Tennessee death row inmate is fighting for her life in hospital after an execution attempt that did not go to plan. Christa Pike, 50, is unconscious, intubated and breathing with the help of a ventilator, according to a new statement from her lawyers. The case has raised hard questions about what happens when a lethal injection fails.
Pike’s attorneys filed an emergency motion asking a court to order the Tennessee Department of Corrections to protect and preserve all evidence linked to the attempt. They say serious complications occurred, and that Pike and her legal team had warned the state and the courts about such problems months earlier. "Preserving this evidence is essential to understanding what happened, ensuring accountability and protecting Christa’s legal rights," the statement read.
What her lawyers say happened
The lawyers say Pike remains "critically ill" and is receiving medical care. They added that her arms were swollen, burned and blistered when she reached the hospital. It is the most detailed account yet of her condition since she survived two rounds of pentobarbital, the drug used in Tennessee’s lethal injection protocol.
According to her lawyers, Pike tried to help staff place the two IV lines. Attorney Randy Spivey said she repeatedly told them, "Please, try up on my shoulder higher, please try here, please try here." She later described a burning feeling in her arm and said it felt as if it was going to burst.
Why it may have failed
Medical experts have suggested the drug may have seeped into the tissue around the insertion sites instead of entering her bloodstream. If so, it would not have reached the levels needed to stop her breathing. Even so, it could have lowered her oxygen or weakened her circulation enough to cause permanent brain damage, and leaking into the tissue could also cause chemical burns.
Dr. Mark Heath of Columbia University Irving Medical Center said the pain in her arm "should have been a bright red flag that the IV was infiltrating." The Department of Corrections has said it followed every step of the state’s lawful, established execution protocol approved by the attorney general’s office.
The background
Pike has been on death row since 1996. She was convicted of murdering Colleen Slemmer, a 19-year-old classmate whom Pike believed was trying to steal her boyfriend. On Jan. 12, 1995, Pike, her boyfriend and a friend lured Slemmer into the woods at Knoxville, saying they would smoke weed.
Slemmer was beaten for more than half an hour, and Pike delivered the fatal blow with a chunk of asphalt. She later kept a piece of the victim’s skull and showed it to fellow students at their Job Corps program. At 20, Pike became one of the youngest women sentenced to death in the United States.
Where things stand
Before the attempt, Pike said she was not afraid to die. She thanked supporters who had campaigned to have her sentence reduced to life, saying, "I’ve felt more love in the last two weeks than I have my entire life." Now she remains in hospital on a ventilator, and some legal experts say her condition could raise questions about whether the state can try to execute her again. For now, her lawyers are focused on making sure the evidence from that night is kept safe.
Image credit: J. Miles Cary/Knoxville News Sentinel
Source: Daily Express US
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