Donald Trump speaks out on Christa Pike's failed execution as lawyers give update on her condition
Donald Trump has reacted to the news of Christa Pike's two failed execution attempts, calling the situation 'interesting'.
US inmate Pike, who received the death penalty for the 1995 murder of Colleen Slemmer, is reported to be in a critical condition after the state of Tennessee failed twice to administer her with the lethal injection.
Asked about the news by White House reporters and whether or not he would push for reforms to capital punishment, the US leader said: “Well, that was an interesting situation, but you’re going to have to speak to Tennessee about it, whether or not they’re going to go forward.
“You know what that was about. That was an execution where the medication didn’t exactly work.”
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President Trump then turned to Ronny Jackson, a Republican congressman and former physician, asking him for more clarification on what happened, to which Jackson replied: "I don’t know how that happens. It should be easy to do."
"It shouldn’t be very difficult," Trump added.
Pike's lawyer details how officials struggled to execute her in new update
Three decades after receiving the death sentence, the state of Tennessee attempted to carry out Pike's execution on Wednesday, 30 September. The 50-year-old was strapped to a gurney in the execution room where reporters and witnesses were watching on from an adjacent room.
Prison staff then attempted to administer the life-ending drugs to Pike, failing to do so twice before she was hospitalised.
Attorneys for Pike have since stated that she remains in a 'critical condition', with one medical expert warning that she may have suffered brain damage from the failed attempts.
Her lawyer Randy Spivey told reporters yesterday (1 October): "We don't have a sense of her prognosis or much update on her health at the moment. But we do know that she is alive right now.
"Last night, the execution team attempted to establish an IV line for an hour.
"I counted at least seven needles used in her left arm alone, one of which appeared to be bent when it was pulled from her arm after an unsuccessful attempt."
Lethal injection is the execution method most likely to go wrong
Intended as a more 'humane' form of execution, the lethal injection has been the subject of controversy over the years.
According to statistics gathered by the Death Penalty Information Centre, lethal injections have the highest rate of being botched, with 7.2 percent of sentences carried out via this method going wrong.
A report published by Reprieve outlines how a lack of medical training amongst staff has led to issues with locating inmates' veins, leading to repeated punctures with a needle.
In executions where the initial anaesthesia has failed, prisoners have remained conscious and suffocated to death after pancuronium bromide has been injected.
Seven people prior to Pike survived lethal injections, but she is the first to survive after the drugs have been administered. Other executions have been called off after officials failed to establish IV lines.
Prior to Pike, Tennessee failed to execute triple murderer Tony Carruthers via lethal injection.
Pike had previously said Carruthers' botched execution was a source of concern, saying 'I’m so scared that what just happened to Tony Carruthers will happen to me' during recent YouTube documentary Dead Woman Walking: Pike Vs Tennessee.
Brenna Cooper