New Delhi: What happens when a death-row prisoner survives not one, but two doses of a lethal injection meant to kill her? Tennessee now has to the answer that question after Christa Pike remained alive following an attempted execution on 30 September.
Pike, 50, was taken to the hospital in critical condition after receiving two doses of pentobarbital at Tennessee’s Riverbend Maximum Security Institution. Witnesses said that she was still breathing and could be heard snoring nearly 30 minutes after the second dose.
The failed execution has prompted an investigation and a suspension of Tennessee’s remaining executions this year, as well as a legal question–can the state try to execute Pike again?
Pike was sentenced to death for the 1995 murder of 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer, a fellow student at a Job Corps training programme in Knoxville. Pike was 18 years old at the time. Had the execution proceeded, she would have become the first woman executed in Tennessee in more than 200 years.
Tennessee officials have defended the execution team’s actions. The state Department of Correction said it “followed every step” of the state’s approved execution protocol and that the lethal-injection drug had “consistently been effective”. The protocol, it said, did not allow for procedures beyond those carried out.
According to Pike’s lawyers, officials spent about an hour trying to establish an intravenous line before the execution. One needle appeared bent when it was removed, her attorney said. After the first dose failed, a second dose was administered, as provided for under Tennessee’s protocol. However, Pike did not die.
The reason is not yet known. Pentobarbital is supposed to be delivered directly into the bloodstream, where it induces unconsciousness, stops breathing and eventually causes cardiac arrest. A misplaced or dislodged IV line, leakage into surrounding tissue, an inadequate dose or another problem with the drug or its delivery could affect the outcome. The state has not released a full explanation.
Also Read: Tennessee to execute a woman for the first time in 200 years. What did she do?
What happens now?
There is another complication: Tennessee’s protocol appears to say what officials should do if the first dose fails, but not what happens if a prisoner survives the backup dose.
Pike’s lawyers have argued that the attempt caused her “unnecessary agony” and violated her constitutional protection against cruel and unusual punishment. They are now seeking to have her death sentence commuted.
Tennessee Governor Bill Lee has ordered an independent review and postponed the state’s remaining execution scheduled for 2026. The attorney general’s office has backed the investigation.
State law, however, does not automatically erase Pike’s death sentence. Under Tennessee law, if a person sentenced to death has not been executed “from any cause,” the sentence remains “in full force.” A new execution would require the Tennessee Supreme Court to set another date; officials cannot simply resume Wednesday’s procedure.
There is also a US Supreme Court precedent for a second attempt. In 1947, the court ruled that Louisiana could execute Willie Francis again after an electric-chair malfunction left him alive. Francis was later executed.
But Pike’s case differs. Francis’ first execution failed because of an equipment malfunction. Pike, according to her lawyers, received two doses of the lethal drug.
That distinction could become central if Tennessee seeks another execution date. Her lawyers could argue that subjecting Pike to another attempt after two intended-to-be-lethal doses amounts to cruel and unusual punishment.
The case is also the second failed execution in Tennessee this year. In May, officials abandoned the execution of Tony Carruthers after they could not establish the IV access needed to administer the lethal drug. He received a one-year reprieve.
For now, Pike remains alive, and Tennessee has not said whether it will seek to execute her again. The independent review and the court battles that follow could determine whether the state gets another chance.