Christa Pike Returns to Tennessee Prison After Hospitalization Following Execution Attempt
This photo provided by the Tennessee Department of Correction shows Christa Pike on Jan. 12, 2023.
Tennessee Department of Correction/AP
Following a brief hospital stay, Christa Pike has returned to the Debra K. Johnson Rehabilitation Center in Tennessee. Her legal team, including Luke Ihnen, Randy Spivey, Stephen Ferrell, and Kelly Gleason, confirmed her return in a statement released on Saturday.
“She is grateful to the first responders and her medical team for their care in these extraordinary circumstances,” the attorneys stated. They also mentioned that she is currently receiving medical care at the facility and that they are closely monitoring her condition.
Pike was hospitalized after a failed execution attempt on September 30, during which she survived two doses of pentobarbital, a sedative commonly used in U.S. executions. According to NPR’s report, Pike was strapped to a gurney when the first dose was administered, prompting her to express discomfort, saying her arm was burning. She requested, “Please try up on my shoulder higher.”
Randy Spivey, who observed the execution attempt, told NPR that after the second dose, Pike fell unconscious but continued to breathe and make choking noises. “It went on for so long,” he remarked, describing Pike as “a survivor.”
Judge I’Ashea Myles of the Davidson County Chancery Court in Nashville has instructed prison officials to preserve all evidence related to the execution attempt, including any communications.
Pike was originally sentenced to death for her involvement in the 1995 torture and murder of 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer, with her then-boyfriend Tadaryl Shipp receiving a life sentence without parole for his role in the crime.
Additional reporting by NPR’s Scott Neuman.
This article was originally written by www.npr.org
