US death row inmate remains in critical condition after failed execution

Christa Pike, 50, a Tennessee death row inmate, remains in critical condition in hospital following two unsuccessful attempts to carry out her execution, her lawyer Steven Ferrell told the BBC on Sunday, October 4.

The lethal injection was attempted on Wednesday, September 30, but Pike survived both attempts and was rushed to a hospital in Nashville. Ferrell told CNN that she is on a ventilator and doctors are still working to clear two doses of pentobarbital from her system.

Officials silent on cause

Tennessee authorities have not yet explained why the execution failed, nor have they said whether another attempt will be made. Following the incident, Governor Bill Lee ordered a pause on all executions in the state through the end of the year. Separately, the head of Tennessee's prison system announced his resignation on Saturday.

Ferrell said that even if Pike survives, it is currently impossible to predict whether she will recover or whether her health would even allow for another execution attempt. He has called on the governor to commute her sentence to at least life imprisonment, pointing out that she has already endured two failed execution attempts and has spent more than three decades in prison, most of it in solitary confinement.

The 1995 murder case

Pike was sentenced to death for the 1995 murder of 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer. Pike, who was 18 at the time, along with her then-boyfriend Tadaryl Shipp, beat, tortured and killed the young woman. She was sentenced to death in 1996.

The victim's mother, Mia Martinez, had traveled to Nashville to witness the execution and supported the sentence against Pike. After learning the execution had failed, she told a local outlet she broke down in tears and believes state authorities owe her an apology.

Before the execution, Pike's lawyers had warned that her health conditions, including thrombocytosis and extremely narrow veins, could increase the risk of unnecessary pain and suffering during the procedure.