Christa Pike’s attorney describes what happened when it became clear she was not dying after receiving second dose of lethal injection
Christa Pike’s lawyer has shared shocking new details of what happened after it became clear that the second dose of lethal injection drugs had not worked.
Pike, 50, was scheduled to be put to death on 30 September after spending three decades on death row for the 1995 killing of Colleen Slemmer.
Prior to the execution, Pike had said she was ‘at peace’ with her fate and ‘not afraid to die’.
However, after the procedure got underway Tennessee’s execution chamber, it soon became clear to onlookers that something had gone wrong.
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At 7.26pm, Pike was strapped to the gurney and a dose of pentobarbital was administered, but witnesses said Pike began to complain that her arm hurt and appeared to sense something was wrong, allegedly asking: “Does this happen like that?”
Witnesses said the curtains to the chamber were then closed, but Pike could still be heard breathing before being asked to leave the witness chamber at 8.53pm.
Her legal team later confirmed that Pike had received and survived two doses of pentobarbital and had been rushed into hospital for life-saving treatment.
Speaking on the Unrestorable podcast, Pike’s lawyer Randy Spivey has shared horrifying new details of what it was like to be in the witness chamber and realising something was wrong.
“After the second dose of the lethal chemicals and the five minute waiting period passed, it was clear that Ms Pike was still breathing,” he recalled.
“I demanded to use a phone to connect with Christa’s legal team to let them know what was happening, as best I could - again from a dark room.
“It took approximately seven minutes and passage through six locked doors to finally get me to a phone where I could alert Christa’s legal team to what was happening. That was at about 8.22 a full 40 minutes after the first dose of chemicals were given to Christa.”
Spivey said that after heading back to where Pike was, he called on officials to stop the execution.
“I was returned to an area near the media room, where I demanded the execution be stopped and that life-saving medical care be given to Christa,” he continued.
“I did not get any information or confirmation that an ambulance was on its way until 8.50.
I had no idea when and if medical professionals began to assist Christa.”
Pike was later rushed into hospital where she was given life-saving treatment, before being discharged 10 days later.
In her first statement since the botched execution, Pike said that she had been left in constant pain since the ordeal.
"There hasn't been a moment since that night when I haven't been in pain. My body hurts. My arms hurt. My hands hurt. My throat hurts. I still struggle to speak. And the pain isn't just physical. There is pain in my mind and in my soul," she said.
"I had not contemplated life beyond that night, and I'm deeply hurt by the incompetence that has put so many people in this terrible position. I continue to think about my victim's family and the terrible pain and loss they have endured.
Pike received the death sentence over the murder of Job Corps classmate Slemmer, whom she and then-boyfriend Tadaryl Shipp led into the woods near Knoxville, Tennessee and brutally beat to death.
It is not currently known whether or not Pike will face an execution again at a later date, as Tennessee has paused all executions while an internal review is carried out.
Claire Reid
