NASHVILLE, Tenn. — An execution in Tennessee did not proceed as planned Wednesday evening when Christa Pike remained alive after two syringes of lethal injection chemicals were administered, according to a federal court filing submitted by her legal team.
Witnesses reported that at approximately 8:26 p.m. local time, executioners had injected both syringes of lethal injection chemicals and Pike was still alive and snoring, her lawyers stated in the filing, according to NBC News. The attorneys further asserted that Pike has not lost consciousness and still has a heartbeat, and that the curtains to the death chamber have gone down twice.
The execution had been scheduled for Wednesday after the U.S. Supreme Court lifted a last-minute stay issued by a federal appeals court, allowing Tennessee officials to proceed. Earlier in the day, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals had temporarily blocked the lethal injection just hours before it was set to take place, but the Supreme Court later overturned that hold.
Pike's legal counsel had argued that the jurors who condemned her to death never heard the complete account of the sexual abuse, psychological trauma, and mental health struggles she endured as a child. They contended that this omitted evidence should have been considered before the sentence was imposed.
Pike was convicted in connection with the 1995 killing of Colleen Slemmer, a 19-year-old fellow Job Corps student in Knoxville. Pike was 18 years old at the time of Slemmer's death.
The case has drawn attention to Tennessee's execution protocols and the legal battles surrounding capital punishment in the state. As of Wednesday evening, Pike's condition remained the subject of an ongoing court filing, and further legal proceedings are anticipated.