Christa Pike survives two lethal injection doses before hospital transfer
Developing story first seen 2 hours ago
Christa Pike was taken to hospital early Thursday after remaining alive following two doses of lethal injection drugs in a failed execution attempt in Tennessee. Her lawyers said they had not been told her condition, while state officials said prison staff followed the approved execution protocol.
The 50-year-old was due to be executed for the 1995 murder of 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer, but the procedure was delayed by a federal appeals court order until the US Supreme Court overturned it shortly before 6pm. Pike received two doses of pentobarbital at Riverbend prison just before 7.30pm; witnesses later heard her snoring, after she said her arm felt as if it would burst. Her lawyers had warned of vein-access problems and other risks, and two doses are the maximum allowed under Tennessee law.
- Pike was transferred to hospital after surviving two lethal injection doses.
- Her condition was not known, according to her lawyers.
- Tennessee officials said staff followed the approved protocol.
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Christa Pike was convicted of murdering Colleen Slemmer, a 19-year-old student, in Tennessee in 1995. Pike was 18 at the time and was sentenced to death.
In the United States, each state sets its own rules for carrying out death sentences, usually by lethal injection. Courts can review whether an execution may proceed and whether the method used complies with constitutional protections against cruel and unusual punishment.
The case concerns both the state’s authority to carry out Pike’s sentence and her lawyers’ ability to challenge the way it was done. It also draws attention to how lethal injections are administered and what legal safeguards apply when an execution does not proceed as intended.
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The case for
Those who defend continuing the execution could argue that Pike was convicted of a grave murder and that a sentence imposed through the courts should be carried out once appeals are exhausted. They may also say that an apparent medical complication calls for urgent care and review, but does not by itself settle whether the punishment is unlawful or should be permanently halted.
The case against
Those who oppose proceeding could argue that the failed injections, reported pain and emergency hospital transfer show the state could not reliably carry out the sentence without risking severe suffering. They may contend that execution must be halted when its method appears to inflict pain beyond what the law permits, and that unresolved uncertainty about Pike’s condition strengthens the case for independent review.
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Originally published by Daily Mail as “Christa Pike execution descends into chaos with killer still alive after two lethal injection doses as she’s rushed to hospital to ‘receive medical care’”.