Christa Pike in Critical Condition After Surviving Two Lethal Injection Attempts
Christa Pike, a 50-year-old Tennessee death row inmate, is in critical condition and receiving life-saving treatment after surviving two doses of lethal injection drugs during an attempted execution.
Pike was sentenced to death in 1996 for the murder of 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer, who was killed when Pike was 18.
According to Pike’s lawyers, prison officials struggled for about an hour to establish an intravenous line before administering two lethal doses of pentobarbital. They said Pike remained alive and breathing after the drugs were administered and was later taken to hospital by ambulance.
Her lawyer, Randy Spivey, said on Thursday that Pike was still alive but that they did not yet know her prognosis.
Following the failed execution, Tennessee Governor Bill Lee ordered an independent investigation into what happened. He also halted the state’s remaining executions for the year while the review is carried out.
Pike’s lawyers are now asking the governor to commute her death sentence and are considering further legal options.
The case has raised questions about the execution process, while officials say the investigation will be thorough and will take time.
