Tennessee Fails To Execute Woman After Two Lethal Injections

Tennessee officials were unable to execute convicted murderer Christa Gail Pike on Wednesday after administering two doses of the lethal-injection drug pentobarbital, her lawyers said. The 50-year-old woman remained alive and was taken to a hospital following the failed execution.

Pike had been scheduled to die at 10 a.m. local time at the Riverbend Maximum Security Institution in Nashville for the 1995 murder of 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer. She would have been the first woman executed in Tennessee in more than 200 years.

Media witnesses said the execution chamber curtains were opened at 7:27 p.m., showing Pike strapped to a gurney. In her final statement, Pike said she was at peace and expressed love. However, she remained conscious after the first injection and at one point raised her head and asked prison officials whether her arm was supposed to feel a certain way.

A second dose of pentobarbital was administered by about 8:26 p.m., according to witnesses. Pike could still be heard snoring behind the closed curtain until the microphone was switched off at 8:53 p.m. Lawyers later said she was transported by ambulance to a nearby hospital, where she was receiving treatment.

The Tennessee Department of Correction said officials followed the state's established execution protocol. The protocol provides for a second set of drug syringes if an inmate is not deceased after the first set, but does not specify what should happen if the person remains alive after the second dose.

Robin M. Maher, executive director of the Death Penalty Information Center, described the incident as unprecedented. She said several people have previously survived execution attempts because prison officials were unable to establish intravenous access, but she was not aware of anyone surviving after receiving the drugs intended to cause death.

The failed execution came after a legal battle over Pike's scheduled death. An appeals court had issued a stay about an hour before the execution was initially due to begin, citing questions over whether allegations of childhood sexual abuse had been adequately considered during sentencing. The US Supreme Court later overturned the stay, allowing Tennessee to proceed.

Pike's lawyers have argued that her age, mental health problems and history of severe abuse should have been considered. Pike was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder after the killing.

Pike was convicted of killing Slemmer after luring her to a wooded area in Knoxville in January 1995. Prosecutors said Pike attacked Slemmer with a box cutter and a piece of asphalt. Pike's boyfriend, who was 17 at the time, was also convicted and received a life sentence.

Following the failed execution, Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee ordered a comprehensive third-party review of what happened and said the state's remaining scheduled execution would not take place this year.

The incident was Tennessee's second failed execution attempt this year. In May, officials called off the lethal injection of Tony Carruthers after execution personnel spent more than an hour unsuccessfully trying to establish an IV.