911 Calls Reveal Confusion Delayed Emergency Help After Failed Execution
Dispatch recordings show a nearly 30-minute delay as officials struggled to verify the legitimacy of a request for emergency medical assistance for Christa Pike.
Emergency responders faced confusion and delays in reaching Christa Pike for medical assistance following the failed execution attempt on September 30, according to 911 dispatch recordings obtained by the Associated Press. The recordings reveal that crucial minutes elapsed as prison officials and first responders grappled with verifying the legitimacy of a call requesting emergency help within the execution chamber.
The initial 911 call was placed at 8:40 p.m., over an hour after the lethal injection process began. The caller, whose identity was redacted, was unable to provide a verification code. A dispatcher noted at 9:03 p.m. that supervisors had been informed it was a false call and that no medical assistance was needed at Riverbend Prison.
It was not until approximately 9:11 p.m., nearly 30 minutes after the first call, that prison officials confirmed the request was legitimate and permitted responders to enter the facility. A first responder was heard on the radio stating that someone outside the prison gate claimed the situation was real and demanded entry, identifying themselves as a state official.
Christa Pike, 50, was hospitalized after surviving two doses of pentobarbital during the state's attempt to execute her for the 1995 stabbing death of her classmate, Colleen Slemmer. Pike was 18 at the time of the murder. State protocol outlines a second dose of pentobarbital if the initial injection is ineffective, but does not specify procedures for an inmate surviving a second dose.
The first 911 transcript indicated Pike was unconscious and not breathing normally. After being transported to a hospital, she was placed on a ventilator for several days. Her attorneys initially did not expect her to survive. She regained consciousness and began limited communication and walking with assistance, according to her legal team. Pike was discharged from the hospital and returned to the women's prison where she has been housed for 30 years.
Central Control representatives initially stated they had not made the emergency call, leading to the verification delays. However, they confirmed the call's legitimacy shortly before 9:11 p.m. An AP reporter observed an ambulance and fire trucks arriving at the prison campus at 9:14 p.m. Medics transporting Pike to the hospital at 9:34 p.m. requested confirmation that the prison was aware of her destination due to the preceding confusion.
Two subsequent emergency calls were made, including one at 9:08 p.m. by Pike's attorney, Kelly Gleason, who stated her client required immediate life-saving care. The Tennessee Department of Correction has not provided an explanation for the procedural issues during the attempted execution. Governor Bill Lee has paused further executions pending a review, and it remains unclear if the state will attempt to execute Pike again.
Medical experts have suggested potential reasons for Pike surviving the injections, including issues with drug quality or IV line placement causing pooling of the medication. Pike's attorneys had previously informed courts and prison officials about her blood disorder, which could cause clotting at injection sites.