Tennessee death row inmate remains on ventilator after failed lethal injection
Christa Pike is unconscious and on a ventilator following a botched execution attempt, and her lawyers have filed an emergency motion to preserve evidence of the procedure.
A Tennessee death row inmate who survived a failed lethal injection on Wednesday remains unconscious and on a ventilator, according to her attorneys. Christa Pike, convicted of a 1995 murder, was the first woman scheduled for execution in the state in more than two centuries when the attempt collapsed.
Pike’s lawyers filed an emergency motion in Davidson County Chancery Court seeking an order that the Tennessee Department of Correction preserve all physical, written and electronic evidence related to the execution. They say the records are needed to determine what occurred, protect Pike’s legal rights and ensure accountability.
"Christa remains critically ill and is receiving medical care for the devastating effects of Wednesday night's events," attorneys Stephen Ferrell and Luke Ihnen said in a statement. "She is critically ill, unconscious, intubated and receiving breathing assistance through a ventilator. She is being treated for the serious effects of the pentobarbital administered during the execution attempt, including significant injuries to both arms."
The filing alleges that execution staff struggled to establish IV access, using at least seven needles before delivering two doses of pentobarbital. It claims Pike warned staff where to insert the IV, that a needle bent at a 90-degree angle when removed, and that she complained of severe arm pain during the procedure. The motion states Pike arrived at the hospital with both arms swollen, burned and blistered, and that medical experts have described pentobarbital as a highly caustic substance.
The attorneys note that months before the execution they warned officials that Pike’s medical conditions—thrombocytosis, PTSD, small veins and a history of difficult needle insertion—made IV access likely to fail and could cause serious injury or prolonged death. They contend the execution team did not recognize that the IV lines had failed before administering a second dose.
A spokesperson for the Tennessee Attorney General’s Office said the governor has called for an investigation and that officials need to determine what happened.