Christa Pike survives Tennessee lethal injection, court seeks answers

Christa Pike survived Tennessee's lethal injection attempt and has regained consciousness. The failed execution has triggered court scrutiny over possible IV errors and preserved evidence.

In Short

• Pike survived two pentobarbital doses during Tennessee's September 30 execution attempt
• Her lawyers want drug records, needles, logs and lot numbers preserved
• Doctors continue critical care as burns and blistering were reported

Death row inmate Christa Pike has regained consciousness after Tennessee's failed attempt to execute her by lethal injection last week, and her lawyers are due in court on Wednesday seeking more information about what went wrong.

Pike, 50, survived two doses of pentobarbital during the September 30 execution attempt for the 1995 beating and stabbing death of her classmate Colleen Slemmer. She is believed to be the only person to survive after lethal injection drugs were administered.

Pike's lawyers are seeking a court order requiring the prison system to preserve material from the attempted execution, including drug lot numbers, needles, execution logs and other records. Chancery Court Judge I'Ashea Myles has scheduled a Wednesday morning status conference in Nashville in the case.

"Against all odds, Christa Pike is conscious, speaking, and continues to receive critical medical care," Pike's lawyers said in a statement. They said her prognosis remains unclear and that, at a minimum, she faces a lengthy recovery. They also said Pike's arms were burned and blistered after the attempted lethal injection and that she is handcuffed to her hospital bed.

Lawyers from the Tennessee attorney general's office said in a Tuesday court filing that such an order was unnecessary because the prison system is "obliged to maintain this evidence in other cases and must assure it is preserved". They added that state officials have taken "the necessary steps to obtain medical care for Pike and ascertain what occurred".

Republican Governor Bill Lee called the incident "deeply disturbing" and ordered a "comprehensive, third-party review to determine exactly what occurred". He also postponed the state's only other execution scheduled for this year.

Medical and lethal injection experts have focused on the possibility that a problem with the IV line caused the drug to pool in Pike's tissue instead of entering her bloodstream. Pike's lawyers said in their court filing that "apparently at no point did any member of the execution team realize that the IV lines were not correctly placed or that the veins had blown".

The execution attempt began at about 7.30 pm on September 30, when Pike was given a chance to make a final statement. About five minutes later, she raised her head and said her arm was hurting. At some point she appeared to lose consciousness, but she could still be heard breathing until media witnesses were escorted out at 8.53 pm. An ambulance arrived at the prison at 9.14 pm to take her to hospital.

The case has now shifted to court, where Pike's lawyers are pressing for details of the failed execution, while state officials say they are preserving evidence and trying to determine what happened.

With PTI Inputs

- Ends