MİLLİYET.COM.TR / New records about the experiences of Christa Pike, who survived the lethal injection attempt in the USA, have revealed remarkable details about that night in prison. Emergency calls for help, radio conversations, and the uncertainty experienced by the intervention teams raised questions about what happened after the execution attempt.
'THEY WAITED TO ENTER'
According to emergency 911 records obtained by The Associated Press through a public records request, what happened on the night of September 30 at Riverbend Prison in Tennessee became even more remarkable with the confusion that arose during the verification of the emergency request. Records revealed that it was discussed whether the call from the prison was real or not, and the medical teams waited for a while to enter.
'NO HELP NEEDED'
The first 911 call was made at 8:40 p.m. on Sept. 30, just over an hour after the attempted execution began. The name and title of the caller were hidden from the records. The caller reported that an inmate was attempted to be executed at Riverbend Maximum Security Prison but was still alive.
However, the caller was unable to provide the code needed to verify the authenticity of the request for help. Thereupon, emergency communication center officials contacted prison officials and tried to understand the authenticity of the call.
The statement broadcast on the radio at 21.03 revealed the extent of the confusion. "According to the instructions of the superiors here, it was reported that this was a fake call. There is no need for medical assistance at Riverbend Correctional Facility," an officer said.
However, at the time the call was made, a situation was occurring in the prison that required urgent medical attention.
'THERE IS SOMEONE AT THE DOOR, HE WANTS TO ENTER'
When emergency response teams contacted the prison's central control unit, officials stated that they did not make the call. According to the records, the control unit said that they should have made such a call, but reported that they did not make the call.
In the radio conversation recorded at 21.07, an emergency response officer stated that the people waiting at the gate of the prison said that the request for help was genuine.
"Someone is outside the door of the prison and tells us that this is real and asks us to come in. He says he is a state official. I need someone to go to the door and talk to these people," the statement was recorded.
The prison administration confirmed that the request for help was genuine at around 21.11, about half an hour after the initial call. Thereupon, intervention teams were allowed to enter the prison.
An Associated Press reporter saw an ambulance and fire trucks arrive at the prison campus building at 9:14 p.m. Thus, emergency response teams reached the building approximately 34 minutes after the first call.
However, the uncertainty continued while Pike was taken to the hospital. At 21.34, a medical officer asked to make sure that the prison administration knew which hospital the patient was taken to.
“I want to make sure they know because there is so much confusion,” the officer said.
HIS LAWYER ALSO REQUESTED IMMEDIATE INTERVENTION
In the records, it was seen that two more emergency calls for help were made in addition to the first call. One of these was carried out by Pike's lawyer, Kelly Gleason, at 21:08.
Gleason stated that his client had completed the stages of the execution protocol but was still alive and requested urgent help.
"My client, Christa Gail Pike, is being executed by the state. She has completed the stages of the protocol and according to the information we received from the lawyer who was there, she is still alive and breathing. She urgently needs life-saving intervention," he said.
The Nashville Emergency Communications Agency released radio and call recordings, censoring some portions. However, the audio recording of the first 911 call was not shared with the public. Police said the recording could not be made public under state law.
The Tennessee Department of Corrections and Pike's legal team did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
HE SURVIVED AFTER TWO LETHAL INJECTIONS
Christa Pike, 50, was sentenced to death for the 1995 murder of classmate Colleen Slemmer. Pike, who was 18 at the time of the murder, was accused of torturing and killing Slemmer along with her boyfriend. For this crime, she became one of the youngest women sentenced to death in the United States.
During the execution attempt on September 30, Pike was given two doses of the deadly drug pentobarbital, but the woman did not lose her life. Tennessee's execution protocol calls for a second dose to be administered if the first dose does not result in death. However, the protocol does not clearly outline the process to be followed if the prisoner survives the second dose.
Pike, who was hospitalized after the execution attempt, remained on a ventilator for several days. His lawyers announced at one point that he was not expected to survive. Pike regained consciousness last Tuesday; He began to speak limitedly and walk with assistance.
Her lawyers announced Saturday that Pike had been released from the hospital and returned to the women's prison where she had been held for nearly 30 years.
IT IS STILL UNKNOWN WHY THE EXECUTION FAILURED
The Tennessee Department of Corrections did not provide a detailed explanation as to why the execution attempt failed. Medical experts are considering several possibilities that could explain Pike's survival despite two doses of lethal injection.
These include possible problems with the quality of the drug used and the possibility that the drug may accumulate in the surrounding tissues instead of in the vein due to the positioning of the intravenous needle. However, none of these possibilities have been explained as a definitive cause in the light of available information.
Before the execution attempt, Pike's lawyers informed the courts and prison authorities that their client had a blood disease that could cause clotting at the injection sites. It is not yet clear whether this health problem played a role in the execution attempt.
NEW EXECUTIONS HAVE BEEN SUSPENDED IN TENNESSEE
Following the failed execution attempt, Tennessee Governor Bill Lee suspended other execution attempts in the state until the investigation was completed. A decision has not yet been announced as to whether Pike will be re-executed.
The resulting 911 recordings raised questions not only about why the lethal injection did not work, but also how the emergency call for help was handled. The process of verifying the call by the prison authorities, allowing intervention teams to enter, and the uncertainties experienced during transportation to the hospital are among the important topics of the review.
It remains unclear what statements the authorities in Tennessee will make as a result of the investigation and whether Pike's execution will be tried again.
