TENNESSEE: Death row inmate Christa Pike remained alive after officials administered a lethal injection twice during an unsuccessful execution attempt, with her lawyers saying she was later placed on a ventilator in a hospital.
Pike, who was convicted of murder, was subjected to the execution procedure at a Tennessee prison in an attempt that reportedly failed after the first injection did not result in her death.
A second lethal injection was then administered, but Pike survived that attempt as well.
Her attorneys have told a court that Pike remained unconscious for several hours after the failed execution and was placed on a ventilator at a hospital.
They said her condition remained critical as medical staff worked to save her life and remove the drugs used in the execution from her body.
According to her lawyers, they believe a problem with the intravenous lines may have prevented the lethal drugs from properly entering her bloodstream and instead caused the medication to spread into surrounding tissue.
The failed execution has prompted a review of Tennessee’s execution procedures.
Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee has ordered a review of the process and indefinitely postponed Pike’s execution while the state examines what went wrong.
Meanwhile, Tennessee’s prisons commissioner has resigned following the failed execution of convicted murderer Christa Pike, who survived two attempts to administer a lethal injection, according to international media reports.
Prisons Commissioner Frank Strada resigned after the execution attempt failed, following a court order related to the case.
Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee confirmed the resignation, saying Strada decided to step down after the state’s attempt to carry out Pike’s execution was unsuccessful. He is expected to leave his position later this month.
Pike was administered a lethal injection twice during the execution attempt but survived both procedures.
Court documents filed by Pike’s attorneys said she remained unconscious and was placed on a ventilator after the failed execution. Her lawyers have said medical staff were treating her following the procedure.
Meanwhile, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk has urged Tennessee not to make another attempt to execute Pike.
Pike’s case has drawn international attention after the failed execution prompted scrutiny of Tennessee’s lethal injection procedures.
