Christa Pike was left without emergency medical assistance for more than half an hour after surviving Tennessee’s attempt to execute her, newly released 911 records reveal.
Confusion between prison officials, emergency dispatchers and first responders reportedly delayed access to Pike after two doses of the lethal-injection drug pentobarbital failed to kill her.
Initial emergency call questioned
According to dispatch recordings obtained by the Associated Press, the first 911 call was made from Riverbend Maximum Security Institution at 8.40pm on September 30.
The unidentified caller reportedly told a dispatcher that prison officials had attempted to execute someone, but she remained alive. Pike was described as unconscious and not breathing normally.
However, the caller was unable to provide the verification code required to confirm that the emergency request was genuine.
At 9.03pm, 23 minutes after the original call, a dispatcher announced that supervisors had been told it was a false alarm and that no medical assistance was required at the prison.
Prison officials denied making call
The confusion continued when staff in the prison’s Central Control said they had not requested an ambulance and would normally have been responsible for making such a call.
Meanwhile, a first responder waiting outside reportedly said someone at the prison gate was insisting that the emergency was genuine and demanding that medical personnel be allowed inside.
At approximately 9.11pm — 31 minutes after the first call — Central Control finally confirmed that the request was legitimate and began allowing emergency crews through the prison gates.
An ambulance and fire engines reached the building inside the prison complex at about 9.14pm. Pike was being transported to hospital by 9.34pm.
Attorney made separate 911 call
One of Pike’s lawyers, Kelly Gleason, also called emergency services at 9.08pm and warned that her client had completed every stage of Tennessee’s execution protocol but remained alive and needed immediate life-saving treatment.
Pike was placed on a ventilator after reaching hospital. Her lawyers said they initially feared that she would not survive, but she later regained consciousness and began speaking and walking with assistance.
She was discharged after approximately 10 days and returned to the Deborah K. Johnson Rehabilitation Center, the women’s prison where she has been held for about 30 years.
Her legal team said she continues to receive medical treatment and is experiencing psychological and cognitive difficulties following the failed execution.
Executions suspended pending investigation
Pike, 50, was sentenced to death for the 1995 killing of her 19-year-old classmate, Colleen Slemmer. She was 18 at the time of the crime.
Tennessee’s execution protocol requires officials to administer a second dose of pentobarbital if the first does not cause death. However, the protocol reportedly provides no instructions for what officials should do if a prisoner survives both doses.
The Tennessee Department of Correction has not publicly explained why the execution failed.
Governor Bill Lee has suspended further executions while an independent review investigates the failed procedure. It remains unclear whether Tennessee will attempt to execute Pike again.
Discover more from Daily Mast
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
