Tennessee inmate describes lasting pain after failed execution
Christa Pike, 50, says she still suffers constant pain and struggles to speak a month after a failed lethal injection in Tennessee on 30 Sep. She received two doses of pentobarbital, survived, and was taken to hospital in critical condition before returning to prison. Her lawyers have asked Governor Bill Lee to commute her death sentence to life imprisonment. Lee has suspended executions in the state pending an independent investigation, and he has indicated her sentence will stand unless the courts decide otherwise.
Key facts
- Pike says she blames the failed execution on incompetence and describes lasting pain in her mind and soul.
- Pike would have been the first woman executed in Tennessee in 200 years.
- There have been 32 executions in the United States this year, all by lethal injection.
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Why it matters
Pike is reported to be the only inmate known to survive a lethal injection, and the state has paused all its scheduled executions.
What changed
First published from NRK, BBC News, The Independent, The Times of India and Hindustan Times