Christa Pike, a 50-year-old death row inmate in Tennessee, was taken to hospital after she survived two lethal injections during her execution. Her lawyer confirmed that Pike was still alive after two syringes of pentobarbital had been administered. The attempted execution went ahead after the US Supreme Court overturned a reprieve granted by a lower court. Pike was sentenced to death in 1996 for the murder of Colleen Slemmer.
The execution at Riverbend Maximum Security Institution in Nashville was halted after Pike's lawyers filed an emergency motion, stating that she had lost consciousness but still had a heartbeat and was audibly snoring. The US Supreme Court's decision to overturn the reprieve was made despite objections from the court's three liberal justices. Justice Brett Kavanaugh granted the application to vacate the stay of the execution, but provided no explanation.
Pike's lawyers argued that the state of Tennessee had previously claimed she lied about being sexually abused as a child, but at a recent hearing, the state said it did not dispute that she had suffered sexual abuse and rape. Pike's legal team asked the appeals court to send her motion back to the district court, arguing that the federal review was affected by the state's earlier claim. The US Supreme Court had previously given the go-ahead for Pike's execution, rejecting a different appeal from her on Tuesday.
Dr Joel Zivot, a professor at the Emory University School of Medicine, said Pike likely never achieved a sufficient blood level of pentobarbital to cause apnoea and cardiovascular failure. He also warned that as a consequence of the delay in resuscitation, Pike may have suffered a brain injury. Pike's case has drawn attention due to her claims of mental illness and her age at the time of the crime.
Pike was 18 when she and her then-boyfriend, Tadaryl Shipp, beat, tortured and killed 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer, whom they met at a job training camp for troubled teens. In her clemency petition, Pike said she intended to beat Slemmer, not kill her, but was unable to "put the brakes on". She described herself as a "mentally ill 18-year-old kid" who took the life of someone's child, sister, and friend.
The murder in 1995 created a media frenzy in Knoxville, Tennessee, after Colleen was found with an inverted pentagram carved into her chest. Pike has denied carving the symbol herself. Colleen Slemmer's mother, May Martinez, has said she wants the execution to take place, telling the Associated Press that she has waited decades to see Pike's sentence carried out.
Pike is the only woman currently serving a sentence on Tennessee's death row and one of only 18 women executed in the US since 1976. Her case highlights the complexities and controversies surrounding the death penalty in the United States.
Key points
- The US Supreme Court overturned a reprieve granted by a lower court, allowing the execution to proceed.
- Pike's lawyers argued that the state of Tennessee had previously claimed she lied about being sexually abused as a child.
- The execution was halted after Pike's lawyers filed an emergency motion, stating that she was still alive after two lethal injections.
