Christa Pike’s Return to Prison Following a Failed Execution Attempt
This photo provided by the Tennessee Department of Correction shows Christa Pike on Jan. 12, 2023.Tennessee Department of Correction/AP
Christa Pike has returned to the Debra K. Johnson Rehabilitation Center in Tennessee after a hospital stay, her legal team confirmed. Attorneys Luke Ihnen, Randy Spivey, Stephen Ferrell, and Kelly Gleason stated on Saturday that Pike is now back in prison where she continues to receive medical attention.
“She is grateful to the first responders and her medical team for their care in these extraordinary circumstances,” the attorneys expressed in their statement.
Pike’s recent hospitalization followed an execution attempt on September 30, during which she was administered two doses of the sedative pentobarbital. Despite the administration of the barbiturate, which is typically used in U.S. executions, Pike survived the ordeal.
The execution attempt began with Pike being strapped to a gurney. Upon receiving the first dose, she reportedly felt a burning sensation in her arm and questioned if it was normal, suggesting an alternative injection site, “Please try up on my shoulder higher.”
After a second dose, Pike became unconscious but reportedly continued breathing, as observed by her attorney Randy Spivey. He described the process as prolonged and referred to Pike as “a survivor.” Spivey shared these details with NPR in an interview (source).
Subsequently, Judge I’Ashea Myles of the Davidson County Chancery Court mandated that all related evidence, including communications linked to the execution attempt, be preserved by prison officials.
Pike was sentenced to death for a murder committed when she was 18. In 1995, she and her boyfriend, Tadaryl Shipp, tortured and killed 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer. Shipp was sentenced to life in prison without parole.
NPR’s Scott Neuman contributed to this report.
This article was originally written by www.npr.org
