‘Two Doses, Still Alive’: Christa Pike Survives Failed Execution After Seeking Firing Squad

Christa Gail Pike, who was scheduled to become the first woman executed in Tennessee in more than 200 years, survived two attempts to administer lethal-injection drugs on Wednesday night.

Pike had sought to be executed by firing squad instead of lethal injection, but Tennessee law does not authorise the firing squad as an execution method. The state permits lethal injection and electrocution, while prisoners whose crimes predate January 1, 1999 can choose electrocution. Pike’s crime was committed in 1995.

The Tennessee Department of Correction said late Wednesday that it had followed “every step” of the state’s approved execution protocol and that the lethal-injection chemicals used had consistently been effective. The department said Pike had been transported to an off-site medical facility.

Execution Deadline Passed

Pike’s execution had been set for Wednesday under an order issued by the Tennessee Supreme Court.

Earlier last week, she filed an application for a stay of execution with the US Supreme Court. The Supreme Court denied the stay and her petition for a writ of certiorari on Tuesday.

Earlier on Wednesday, a federal court had temporarily stayed the execution, but the US Supreme Court later overturned that stay, clearing the way for Tennessee to proceed.

The two lethal-injection attempts did not result in Pike’s death before the execution warrant expired at midnight.

Why Pike Wanted A Firing Squad

Pike’s lawyers argued that lethal injection could be particularly traumatic for her because of her history of childhood abuse and trauma.

Her legal team also cited what it described as difficulties with her veins and a blood condition that could complicate the insertion of an intravenous line. Tennessee disputed those claims, according to Al Jazeera.

Her lawyers had proposed an all-female firing squad. Tennessee does not permit that method, and the state also opposed an alternative proposal to execute Pike by hanging, saying it had neither the legal authority nor the equipment to do so.

What Was Pike Convicted Of?

Pike was convicted of murdering 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer, a fellow student at a Job Corps vocational centre in Knoxville, in 1995.

Pike and her then-boyfriend Tadaryl Shipp lured Slemmer into a wooded area, where she was tortured and killed. Pike and Shipp were convicted of first-degree murder in 1996. Pike received a death sentence, while Shipp was sentenced to life with the possibility of parole.

Pike is now 50 and has spent decades on death row.

What Happens To Pike Now?

The Tennessee Department of Correction has not announced a new execution date in the supplied material. Its statement said only that the execution protocol had been followed and that Pike had been taken to an off-site medical facility.

A  second motion to stay on the execution was filed on Wednesday, with the Tennessee Supreme Court denying the request that day.

Pike’s case has highlighted both the legal disputes surrounding her execution and the wider debate over methods of capital punishment in the US, where lethal injection remains the most widely used method. Tennessee’s rules, however, leave the state with limited alternatives if lethal injection cannot be completed.