Christa Pike's Lawyer Claims She Tried to Aid Executioners During Botched Lethal Injection
The convicted murderer, who survived two doses of pentobarbital, was described as "kind and polite" by her attorney.
Christa Pike, the first death row inmate in U.S. history believed to have survived a lethal injection, was reportedly "kind and polite" during the procedure and even attempted to assist the execution team, according to her lawyer.
Pike, 50, was administered two doses of the lethal injection drug pentobarbital on September 30 at Riverbend Maximum Security Institution in Nashville. The execution was halted after the drug appeared to be ineffective, and Pike was subsequently taken to a hospital. She regained consciousness on Tuesday.
"Christa was at peace, she helped the execution team find what they thought was venous access," Pike's lawyer, Randy Spivey, stated at a press conference Wednesday. He added that Pike remained composed as executioners struggled to find a vein, describing the scene as one where they "stabbed her arm with needle after needle, and then she felt the burn of the pentobarbital."
Pike was sentenced to death in 1995 for the murder of her 19-year-old Job Corps classmate, Colleen Slemmer. The murder occurred in January 1995, when Pike was 18 years old. Reports indicate Pike survived the botched execution and is now awake, according to her lawyer, "up and walking" and "angry."
