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Tennessee death row inmate Christa Pike survived two syringes of pentobarbital during a botched execution. Her lawyers filed emergency motions after she remained conscious and snoring.
A woman on death row in Tennessee is still alive after two doses of lethal injection, according to her lawyers. Christa Pike was scheduled to be executed at Riverbend Maximum Security Institution in Nashville at 10am on September 30, local time.
Pike Survived Lethal Injection Doses
The execution was delayed by about nine hours after a last-minute stay. The Supreme Court ultimately cleared the way for it to proceed a few hours later. The state raced to go ahead before the day ended to avoid rescheduling. Pike's lawyers said two syringes of pentobarbital, the lethal drug, had been administered, but Pike had not lost consciousness.
She still had a heartbeat and was audibly snoring, they said. It was not immediately clear what went wrong with the administration of the drugs. Media witnesses described Pike as somewhat alert, at one point singing with her spiritual adviser. Curtains were closed for nearly an hour, but reporters confirmed they could still hear breathing and steady snoring throughout that time.
The blinds were closed for the first time to the execution chamber at 7:46pm and opened again at 7:49pm, Associated Press journalist Kim Chandler said. The curtain closed for the final time at 8:06pm. Pike could be heard loudly snoring, clearly very alive, until media witnesses were told to leave at about 8:53pm. Emergency vehicles arrived at the prison shortly after witnesses were escorted out and left about 15 minutes later with lights and sirens blaring.
Lawyers Seek Immediate Medical Care
It was not clear if Pike had been taken for medical treatment. Pike's lawyers submitted two emergency filings late on Wednesday in federal and state court to stop the execution and ensure Pike received medical care. They wrote that the execution was causing Pike unnecessary agony and violating her Eighth Amendment rights against cruel and unusual punishment. The Tennessee Department of Correction did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
It was the second time this year that Tennessee struggled to administer lethal drugs. In May, the state called off one of four planned executions because medical staff could not find a vein. Pike's lawyers had argued the procedure could be torturous because she has small veins, a history of sexual trauma and other medical conditions. Pike, 50, would have been the first woman executed in the state in more than 200 years.
The US Supreme Court allowed the state to proceed just hours before the procedure was botched. The order came after a divided panel on a federal appeals court earlier in the day briefly paused the execution and said more time was needed to consider the case. Her lawyers had argued that Pike's initial legal defence did not adequately present her history of child sexual abuse and neglect.
Supreme Court Justices Dissent On Order
The three liberal justices on the Supreme Court dissented from the order allowing the execution to proceed. Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote that the majority unnecessarily prevents the appeals court from fully considering Pike's argument. She said she saw no reason to short-circuit the ordinary process of appellate review, particularly in light of the grave consequences of an erroneous decision. Sotomayor was joined by Justices Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson.
Sotomayor added that Tennessee's desire to expedite Pike's execution by a few days or even weeks cannot outweigh Pike's interest in protecting her own life.
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smh:This story was compiled and edited by the HeadTopics newsroom and HT AI from the reports above.
Colleen Slemmer Tennessee Lethal Injection Botched Execution Pentobarbital Death Row
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