Failed execution in the USA: Christa Gail Pike survived two doses of lethal injection

Christa Gail Pike, who was in prison for the murder she committed in the US state of Tennessee in 1995 and was sentenced to death years later, survived two doses of lethal injection. Following the situation, state officials suspended the execution and sent Pike to the hospital for medical care.

Despite being given two syringes of the lethal drug pentobarbital, Pike did not lose consciousness and his heartbeat remained normal, his lawyers said. In a statement made Wednesday night, it was stated that the woman was taken to a nearby hospital for treatment and her condition was unclear.

If 50-year-old Pike, who was sentenced to death for a murder she committed at the age of 18, had been executed, she would have been the first woman to be executed in the state of Tennessee in more than 200 years.

'THERE IS NOTHING LIKE IT'

According to the Tennessean newspaper, eyewitnesses who were in the Nashville prison to watch the historic execution described Pike as somewhat alert before being injected with lethal drugs, and even hummed a song at one point.

According to eyewitnesses, Pike said that he would leave this world "full of love" as he had spent most of his life. Stating that he feels love for those who hate him, Pike said, "I am ready to be free, today is a happy day."

About an hour after Pike was given the first injection, a second lethal dose of the drug was injected around 8:30 p.m., and about 20 minutes later bystanders were asked to leave the scene.

According to media members who were at the scene, the convicted killer could be heard breathing the entire time.

Commenting on the incident, Robin Maher, executive director of the Death Penalty Information Center, said: "This is the worst we have ever seen and is unlike any other botched execution in the modern era. It is unprecedented."

ALL EXECUTIONS HAVE BEEN STOPPED

"Once again tonight, the state of Tennessee failed to carry out a lawful execution," his lawyers said in a statement, the news outlet reported.

However, the Tennessee Department of Corrections stated that all protocols were followed during the botched execution.

Tennessee Governor Bill Lee called for a full, independent review of what happened and canceled for now the last execution planned in the state by the end of 2026.

WHAT HAPPENED?

As a result of a fit of jealousy in January 1995, Pike, along with her boyfriend Tadaryl Shipp (17) and her friend Shadolla Peterson (18), took Colleen Slemmer (19) to a secluded area of ​​the University of Tennessee's Knoxville campus and brutally tortured and killed her.

Pike was sentenced to death following his trial in 1996, while Shipp was sentenced to life in prison because he was a minor at the time, and Peterson received parole for being an accessory after he testified against the pair.

In the 226-page amnesty application submitted to the governor's office, Pike's lawyers explained that their client was exposed to severe neglect, violence and sexual abuse during his childhood, and that he was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder during his prison period. Stating that their clients' situation has changed since the age of the crime, the lawyers asked for the sentence to be commuted to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.

The rate of execution of death sentences against female prisoners is very low throughout the United States. According to Death Penalty Information Center (DPIC) data, 18 of the 1,683 people executed since the Supreme Court paved the way for the death penalty in 1976 are women.

The last woman executed in Tennessee was Martin Eve, who was accused of accessory to murder and executed by hanging in 1820, according to the Death Penalty Information Center.