Christa Pike Remains Hospitalized in Critical Condition After Botched Execution
Attorneys for the convicted murderer state she is unconscious and on a ventilator following two failed lethal injection attempts.
Christa Pike is hospitalized and in critical condition, remaining unconscious and on a ventilator nearly two days after botched attempts to execute her. Her attorneys reported Friday that hospital staff are working to clear the pentobarbital drugs administered during the failed procedures.
According to a court filing by Pike's legal team, executioners did not appear to realize that IV lines were improperly placed or that veins had ruptured, leading to the drug potentially entering Pike's body incorrectly. Instead of addressing these issues, the attorneys claim, the execution team administered a backup set of pentobarbital syringes.
Pike's lawyers have filed a motion requesting that the Tennessee Department of Correction preserve all evidence related to the execution attempt. They stated that Pike is critically ill and receiving breathing assistance, being treated for severe effects from the pentobarbital, including significant injuries to both arms.
Pike was convicted of the 1995 murder of Colleen Slemmer. She is the first death row inmate in U.S. history to survive a lethal injection attempt.