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Witnessing the Failed Execution of Christa Pike: ‘We Could All Hear Her Breathing’
Developing
In Short: Christa Pike's execution was halted when medical staff could not establish IV access, leading to a suspension of lethal injections for the rest of the year.
On Sept. 30, Christa Pike's execution was halted when medical staff could not establish IV access, marking the first time a woman faced the death penalty in Tennessee in nearly 200 years.
Pike's attorneys had requested that she be hanged instead, citing concerns about her platelet disorder and small veins, which could make the lethal injection both painful and ineffective.
The execution team attempted to insert IV lines for over an hour and a half, during which time media witnesses could hear Pike breathing.
Tennessee Governor Bill Lee announced that the state would not attempt another execution for at least a year, suspending lethal injections for the remainder of 2023.
This was the second failed execution attempt in Tennessee this year, following a botched attempt in May involving Tony Carruthers.
The media witnesses, including the author, arrived at the Riverbend Maximum Security Institution in Nashville by 8:30 a.m., anticipating the execution to begin at 10 a.m.
Sometime around 6 p.m., the prison system’s communications director, Dorinda Carter, informed the witnesses that the execution was proceeding.
The U.S. Supreme Court had previously cleared the way for Pike's execution, lifting a stay issued by a federal appeals court.
Pike was convicted for her involvement in the kidnapping and murder of three people in 1994, and she maintained her innocence throughout the process.
What this adds
This report adds details about the execution process and the state's response to the failed attempt, highlighting the ongoing issues with lethal injections in Tennessee.
Background
The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday cleared the way for Tennessee to move forward with the execution of Christa Pike, lifting a last-minute stay issued by a federal appeals court less than two hours before she was scheduled to die by lethal injection.
What's confirmed
- On Sept. 30, I was one of the seven media witnesses who observed Tennessee fail to execute convicted murderer Christa Pike, the first woman to face the death penalty in the state in almost 200 years.
- Pike’s attorneys had asked the Tennessee Supreme Court to allow her to be hanged instead, citing concerns that a platelet disorder and small veins would make the actual injection not only painful but ineffective.
- Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee said after the failed execution of Carruthers, who has maintained he is innocent, that the state wouldn’t try again to kill him for at least a year.
- After Pike left the execution chamber in an ambulance on Sept. 30, Lee announced he would suspend lethal injections for the rest of the year.
- The plan was to wait inside until Pike began her journey to the death chamber at 10 a.m.
- This was my fifth stint as a media witness to an execution, and I’d never seen a stay issued.
- Outside of prison staffers and the execution team, only the prisoner’s spiritual adviser and attorney are allowed in the room with the prisoner while the IVs are inserted.
- Witnesses at his execution said they sat in a dark room for an hour and a half as the execution team tried and failed to place an IV line.
- And Tennessee had already botched an execution attempt in May, when healthcare workers failed to establish complete IV access into Tony Carruthers, who was sentenced to death after being convicted for his involvement in the kidnapping and murders of three people in 1994.
- The morning of Pike’s scheduled execution, I and the other media witnesses arrived at the Riverbend Maximum Security Institution in Nashville by 8:30 a.m.
What's still developing
- This story was produced in partnership with KFF Health News.