Tennessee Execution Fails As Death Row Inmate Survives Lethal Injection

A planned execution in Tennessee has failed after death row inmate Christa Pike survived an attempted lethal injection and was taken for medical treatment, according to her lawyers and court records.

Pike’s legal team filed an emergency motion during the execution, arguing that she remained alive after the lethal injection. District Judge Clifton L. Corker subsequently issued a ruling noting that medical personnel had begun providing treatment.

Her lawyers later alleged that difficulties accessing a vein, damaged veins and degraded pentobarbital contributed to the failed execution. They also criticised the lack of emergency medical care available under the state’s execution protocol.

Dr Joel Zivot, a professor at Emory University School of Medicine and a medical expert retained by Pike’s legal team, said she may not have reached a sufficient blood concentration of pentobarbital to cause the respiratory and cardiovascular failure required for the execution.

Zivot also warned that the delay in beginning resuscitation could potentially result in brain injury.

The execution went ahead after Pike’s lawyers lost several last-minute legal challenges. The US Supreme Court rejected two attempts to halt the procedure.

Pike’s defence had argued that mitigating evidence, including her documented history of childhood sexual abuse, was not properly considered when she was sentenced to death in 1996.

Tennessee Governor Bill Lee denied her clemency request earlier this week.