Christa Pike, convicted of murder three decades ago, is in critical condition after Tennessee failed to execute her, her lawyer said this afternoon. Pike was transported to a hospital last night after surviving two doses of the lethal drug pentobarbital. She remained alive, breathing and snoring for nearly an hour before being taken to a hospital.
Randy Spivey, Pike's lawyer, described the botched execution as “cruel and torturous” and urged Governor Bill Lee to reduce her sentence to life in prison. Lee, who previously denied such a request, suspended all other executions in Tennessee until the completion of an independent review. Pike's was the state's second failed execution this year.
Pike would have been the first woman executed in Tennessee in more than 200 years. She was found guilty of torturing and murdering classmate Colleen Slemmer in 1995, when Pike was 18. After years in prison, Pike said she regretted her actions. Slemmer's mother, adamantly in favor of execution, was at the prison yesterday.
The execution team used at least seven needles trying to find a suitable vein, leaving Pike with blistering and burning, suggesting the drug poured into tissue instead of entering her bloodstream. For more: America has a long history of botched executions.
Source: New York Times Top Stories · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing