Christa Pike Execution: 911 Call Confusion Delayed Emergency Response

Emergency help for Christa Pike was delayed by confusion among first responders and Tennessee prison officials following her attempted execution last month. A 911 call requesting an ambulance for the execution chamber was initially dismissed by a police dispatcher who believed it might be a false report, according to newly-released police dispatch audio transcripts.

Pike, 50, received two doses of pentobarbital on September 30 as Tennessee state officials attempted to execute her for the 1995 stabbing death of classmate Colleen Slemmer. However, she was still alive after the drug was administered.

The first 911 call came in at 8:40 p.m., about an hour after the lethal injection process began. The caller stated, "We've been carrying out an execution tonight. We've administered 10 grams of pentobarbital. The person is not yet deceased," and requested an ambulance.

The dispatcher asked for a verification code to confirm the call's authenticity, which the caller did not possess. At 8:59 p.m., the dispatcher contacted the Tennessee Department of Correction Central Control to verify the call. Officials there stated that no one from their facility had called police regarding a botched execution, leading the dispatcher to conclude at 9:03 p.m. that it was a false call and no medical assistance was needed.

However, at 9:06 p.m., 26 minutes after the initial call, the Department of Correction contacted the prison with the verification code. Despite this, communication issues persisted, with a first responder reporting that someone outside the prison gate claimed the situation was real and demanding entry.

Finally, at 9:11 p.m., a police dispatcher contacted the Tennessee Highway Patrol requesting a trooper be sent to the prison to facilitate the entry of emergency vehicles, citing the urgency of the situation at the gate and the defense attorney's inquiries.

Pike was hospitalized and placed on a ventilator. Her attorneys reported that she had not been expected to survive at one point. She regained consciousness and began speaking limitedly and walking with assistance last week. Pike was discharged from the hospital and returned to the women's prison where she has been housed for 30 years, her lawyers said.

The Tennessee Department of Correction has not provided an explanation for the issues during the attempted execution. Medical experts have suggested possibilities such as drug quality problems or improper IV line placement leading to the drug pooling in tissue.