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Tennessee execution team feared Christa Pike's vein had blown, lawyer says
During Christa Pike's failed lethal injection on Sept. 30, Tennessee's execution team used about 10 needles over roughly 50 minutes and feared her vein had blown, her lawyer said in a court filing. Gov. Bill Lee has paused executions pending a review.
Tennessee's execution team used about 10 needles and spent roughly 50 minutes trying to establish a working IV line during the failed Sept. 30 execution of death row inmate Christa Pike, according to a court filing by her lawyer, Randy Spivey.
Spivey, who witnessed the attempt, said team members worried they might have damaged Pike's vein, believing it may have "blown," and struggled to determine whether the needle had reached it. Despite the difficulties, the drugs began to be administered, but Pike, 50, survived. The execution was halted after she made snoring and choking sounds.
Pike spent 10 days in the hospital before being returned to prison in Nashville. She has regained the ability to walk and talk, but her long-term health outlook remains uncertain.
The failed execution has intensified scrutiny of Tennessee's lethal injection procedures, and Gov. Bill Lee has suspended executions in the state until a review is completed. The case also renewed attention on death row inmate Tony Carruthers, who survived an execution attempt in May after problems finding a vein. Lawyers for death row inmates say the two cases expose serious flaws in the state's protocol and have renewed legal challenges, arguing the procedures risk severe pain and suffering.
Pike was sentenced to death for the 1995 killing of her classmate Colleen Slemmer, committed when Pike was 18.
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