Execution team reported vein rupture before injecting Christa Pike

Christa Pike survived a lethal injection in Tennessee after the execution team reported that her veins had likely ruptured. The state halted the procedure after failing to properly administer the drug. Her attorney, Randy Spivey, detailed the events in a court filing submitted on Thursday. The document provides the most granular account of the Sept. 30 attempt to date.

Spivey stated that the IV team inserted approximately 10 needles into Pike's arms. They attempted multiple sites on both limbs to establish the two lines required by protocol. The right arm IV took about six minutes to place. The left arm IV took nearly an hour. Spivey noted that the team had difficulty pushing saline through the final site they established.

The process began at 6:34 p.m. Pike, 50, suggested the team look in her upper arm for a usable vein. Spivey described Pike as wincing and grimacing while staff moved needles in her left arm. Team members voiced doubts about the success of the procedure. At 6:57 p.m., one member said a vein might be blowing. Two others could not determine the status. A later needle appeared severely bent upon removal.

At 7:07 p.m., a team member stated, "I think it's blown." The group declared the left arm IV successful at 7:13 p.m. Phone calls to the execution chamber started roughly five minutes later. Spivey said staff in the adjoining room repeatedly asked the IV team to check Pike's left arm. It is unclear when the pentobarbital entered the lines.

At 7:34 p.m., Pike told her spiritual adviser, "I feel like my arm is about to bust. It burns." She continued speaking for about 10 minutes before making an agitated snoring sound. Over the next 30 minutes, Spivey reported that Pike strained, flinched, and moved her head. He observed her appearing to struggle for breath.

Spivey requested a phone to call colleagues. Staff led him on a seven-minute route through the facility instead of letting him use the phone in the witness room. At 8:22 p.m., he called fellow attorneys to stop the execution. He noted that Tennessee law does not authorize a third dose. He then informed the deputy attorney general that Pike required immediate medical care.

Pike was convicted in 1995 for the stabbing death of classmate Colleen Slemmer. She was 18 at the time of the crime. Tennessee protocol mandates a second dose of pentobarbital if the first does not cause death. The rules do not specify what happens if a prisoner survives the second injection. Pike was placed on a ventilator for several days after the attempt.

Her attorneys initially did not expect her to survive. Pike regained consciousness and returned to prison after being discharged from the hospital. The filing is part of a separate case where death row inmates are challenging the state's lethal injection procedures. Attorney Kit Thomas, representing those inmates, said their predictions about botched executions have come true. He stated that this outcome will continue without substantial change.

Spivey was told at 8:50 p.m. that an ambulance was en route. About 20 minutes later, he was informed that medical staff were performing life-saving measures. An ambulance arrived at the hospital at 9:14 p.m. Pike is currently back in custody.