US murderer Christa Pike unconscious and on ventilator after failed execution, lawyers say

What the report says

Tennessee death row inmate Christa Pike remained unconscious, intubated and on a ventilator after a failed lethal injection attempt, according to court filings cited by BBC World News. Pike, 50, was taken to a hospital in the Nashville area after prison officials administered two doses of pentobarbital on Wednesday but did not complete the execution. Her lawyers said she was still critically ill as of Thursday night.

The BBC reported that the legal team is now asking a court to preserve all physical, written and digital evidence connected to the execution attempt. In their filing, they alleged there were problems with IV placement, including the use of multiple needles, and argued the drug may not have properly entered Pike’s bloodstream. A medical expert advising the defense said the amount used would likely have been lethal if delivered normally, while also pointing to possible vein damage and Pike’s blood-clotting condition as factors.

Pike was sentenced to death in 1996 for the 1995 killing of Colleen Slemmer in Knoxville, Tennessee, when Pike was 18. Her lawyers had previously warned that her medical conditions could make lethal injection especially painful. Tennessee Governor Bill Lee has ordered an independent review of the botched execution and paused executions in the state for the rest of the year. Officials have not said whether another execution attempt will be made or explained what went wrong.