Christa Pike, a Tennessee death row inmate who survived a botched execution last month, has been discharged from a local hospital and returned to the Debra K. Johnson Rehabilitation Center, according to her legal team. Attorneys Luke Ihnen, Randy Spivey, Stephen Ferrell, and Kelly Gleason announced the transfer on Saturday.
In a statement, the attorneys expressed that Pike is grateful for the care provided by first responders and medical personnel during the extraordinary circumstances. They confirmed she is currently receiving medical attention at the prison facility and that her recovery is being closely monitored.
Pike had remained hospitalized for several days after state officials administered two doses of the sedative pentobarbital during an execution attempt on September 30. The procedure, intended to carry out her death sentence, failed to render her unconscious effectively.
During the incident, Pike was strapped to a gurney and given the barbiturate commonly used in U.S. executions. According to NPR reports, shortly after the first dose, Pike complained of a burning sensation in her arm and asked if that was expected. She then requested that the intravenous line be repositioned higher up on her shoulder.
Randy Spivey, who witnessed the event, told NPR that after the second dose, Pike became unconscious but continued to breathe and made choking sounds. “It went on for so long,” Spivey said, describing Pike as a survivor.
Following the incident, Judge I’Ashea Myles of the Davidson County Chancery Court in Nashville ordered prison officials to preserve all evidence related to the failed execution, including messages and other communications.
Pike was sentenced to death for her role in the 1995 torture and murder of 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer, a fellow classmate at the Knoxville Job Corps. At the time of the crime, Pike was 18 years old. Her boyfriend, Tadaryl Shipp, was convicted of the same murder and received a life sentence without the possibility of parole.
Leave a Reply