Pike's Lawyer Details Ten-Needle Struggle in Failed Tennessee Execution

Christa Pike, 50, endured a harrowing medical ordeal during her September 30 execution attempt in Tennessee, according to a court filing released Thursday. Her attorney, Randy Spivey, detailed how the state's execution team used approximately 10 needles across several hours to establish intravenous lines. The document provides the most granular account yet of the procedure that left Pike hospitalized after she survived two lethal doses of pentobarbital.

The filing outlines a prolonged struggle to place the two IVs required by Tennessee's protocol. The team began their efforts at 6:34 p.m. An IV was placed in Pike's right arm within six minutes. However, establishing a line in her left arm took nearly an hour. During this time, Pike, who was conscious, suggested the staff check her upper arm for a usable vein.

Spivey wrote that team members expressed uncertainty about the condition of Pike's veins. At 6:57 p.m., one member noted a vein might be 'blowing,' while two others could not determine its status. A subsequent needle was found to be severely bent upon removal. By 7:07 p.m., another team member stated, 'I think it's blown.' Despite these warnings, the team concluded at 7:13 p.m. that an IV had been successfully placed in her left arm.

Phone communications between the execution chamber and the adjacent room where staff administered the drug began five minutes after the IV placement. Spivey noted that the team pushing the drug repeatedly asked the IV team to check Pike's left arm. It is unclear exactly when the pentobarbital entered the lines. However, at 7:34 p.m., Pike reported that her arm felt like it was about to burst and that it burned.

In the 30 minutes following the injection, Pike strained, flinched, and appeared to struggle for breath, according to the filing. She maintained a conversation with her spiritual adviser for about 10 minutes before producing an agitated snoring sound. Spivey requested a phone to call for help but was led on a seven-minute walk through the facility rather than being allowed to use the witness room phone.

At 8:22 p.m., Spivey called fellow attorneys to request that the execution stop, noting that a third dose was not authorized. He also informed the deputy attorney general that Pike required immediate medical care. At 8:50 p.m., he was told an ambulance was en route. Approximately 20 minutes later, he was informed that medical staff were performing life-saving measures. An ambulance arrived at the hospital at 9:14 p.m.

Pike was convicted in 1995 for the stabbing death of classmate Colleen Slemmer. She was 18 at the time and became one of the youngest women sentenced to death in the state. Tennessee's protocol mandates a second dose of pentobarbital if the first does not cause death, but it does not specify procedures for a person who survives the second injection.

The filing is part of a separate legal challenge by death row inmates contesting the state's lethal injection procedures. Kit Thomas, an attorney representing those inmates, said the Pike case validated predictions about the likelihood of botched executions. 'Our predictions about the likelihood of botched executions have come true, and will continue to come true, without substantial change,' Thomas said.

After surviving the attempt, Pike was placed on a ventilator for several days. Her attorneys did not expect her to live at one point during her hospitalization. She regained consciousness and has since been discharged and returned to prison.