NASHVILLE: U.S. President Donald Trump has reacted to the failed execution of Tennessee death row inmate Christa Pike, who survived a lethal injection on Wednesday despite the state administering the drugs intended to kill her.
Trump commented on the extraordinary case on Oct. 1 during a visit to Denton, Texas. A reporter asked whether he planned to pursue changes to capital punishment following the unsuccessful execution.
“Well, that was an interesting situation, but you’re going to have to speak to Tennessee about it, whether or not they’re going to go forward,” Trump said after arriving in Texas aboard Air Force One.
Pike, 50, is Tennessee’s only woman on death row. She was convicted of murdering her classmate Colleen Slemmer, 19, in 1995. Pike was 18 at the time of the killing and has spent more than three decades on death row.
The execution began Wednesday evening after the U.S. Supreme Court cleared the way for Tennessee to proceed. Earlier in the day, the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals had temporarily halted the execution while considering claims by Pike’s lawyers involving allegations of severe childhood sexual abuse.
The Supreme Court later vacated the lower court’s order, allowing the execution to proceed. Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson dissented.
Witnesses who observed the execution described an unusual and prolonged process. Reporters said Pike complained of severe pain and was heard snoring during the procedure. She also moved her feet repeatedly, at one point knocking the sheets from her body.
Pike’s lawyers said witnesses saw executioners administer both syringes containing lethal-injection chemicals. Despite the drugs being administered, her attorneys said Pike remained conscious and had a heartbeat.
Witnesses also reported that Pike complained about pain in her arm, saying it felt as though it was about to burst. The curtain to the execution chamber was closed twice during the process.
The Tennessee Department of Correction said officials followed the state’s established execution protocol. A department spokesperson said the lethal-injection chemical used in the procedure had consistently been effective.
Pike was later transported to an off-site medical facility. Her attorneys said early Thursday that she was being treated at a hospital but that they did not know her condition.
Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee ordered a comprehensive third-party review of the failed execution. He said Thursday that he did not know Pike’s current condition and expressed disappointment over what happened.
Lee said there were still unanswered questions about the procedure but maintained that, as far as he knew, officials had followed the required protocol.
The incident is the second execution-related failure in Tennessee this year. In May, the execution of Tony Carruthers was halted after officials could not establish a backup intravenous line, resulting in a one-year reprieve.
Pike’s case had already attracted legal attention because of her age at the time of the murder and claims concerning childhood abuse and mental health. Her lawyers argued that those circumstances should be considered as courts reviewed her death sentence.
Pike has acknowledged her role in Slemmer’s killing. The case involved Pike and two teenage accomplices torturing, slashing and fatally beating Slemmer. Investigators also said the killing had occult-related elements, including a pentagram carved into the victim’s chest.
Slemmer’s mother, May Martinez, expressed anger after learning that Pike had survived the execution attempt. She said she wanted the sentence carried out and criticized officials for the lack of information provided to victims’ families.
Pike had been scheduled to become the first woman executed by Tennessee in more than two centuries. The state has postponed its remaining scheduled execution for this year while officials investigate what went wrong during the failed lethal injection.
The failed execution now leaves questions over Pike’s medical condition, the state’s execution protocol and whether Tennessee will seek to carry out the death sentence again.
