Execution of Krista Pike in Tennessee halted after her heart failed to stop following two lethal doses

The execution of Krista Gale Pike, 50, was not completed on Wednesday evening in Tennessee after her heart continued beating even after she received two doses of pentobarbital. Her lawyer confirmed to the BBC that Pike was later taken to a medical facility.

Pike, who had been sentenced to death for the murder of 19-year-old Colleen Schlemmer, became the first woman in Tennessee to undergo an unsuccessful execution by lethal injection.

The procedure began at around 8 p.m. local time at the Riverbend Correctional Facility in Nashville. The Associated Press reported that Pike was administered two doses of pentobarbital and that the curtains between the execution chamber and the witness area were closed twice.

Journalists present said they could hear the 50-year-old woman snoring loudly. At one point, they were ordered to leave the room where the procedure was taking place.

Pike’s legal team urgently appealed to the court, requesting that the execution be suspended and that immediate medical assistance be provided. The filing said she had lost consciousness while her heart continued to beat and her snoring could still be heard.

Federal Judge Clifton Corker ordered medical personnel to intervene, and Pike was later transported to an outpatient facility.

Her lawyers argued that Tennessee authorities had failed to carry out an execution in accordance with the law. They raised concerns about difficulties locating veins, possible damage to them during the procedure, the degradation of the pentobarbital and the lack of proper medical treatment in the event of complications.

The Tennessee Department of Correction disputed this assessment, stating that every stage of the state’s execution protocol had been followed. Spokeswoman Dorinda Carter said the substance used had been repeatedly tested and found to be effective.

Tennessee Governor Bill Lee announced after the incident that all other executions scheduled for the remainder of the year would be suspended. He also called for a full investigation to clarify the causes of the incident.

Joel Zivot, a doctor, professor at Emory University School of Medicine and an expert retained by Pike’s defense, told the BBC that she may not have received a sufficient level of pentobarbital in her bloodstream to cause respiratory arrest and cardiovascular collapse. He said the delay in beginning resuscitation could also have caused brain damage.

The execution was allowed to proceed after the US Supreme Court overturned a temporary stay imposed earlier by a lower court. It was the second case within two days in which Supreme Court justices authorized an execution to continue.

Pike received the death penalty in 1996 for the murder of Colleen Schlemmer, committed in January 1995, when Pike was 18.

Evidence presented at trial showed that Pike, her 17-year-old boyfriend at the time and a friend had lured Schlemmer, a Job Corps student, to a wooded area. There, according to testimony, they tortured and killed her. Pike and her boyfriend admitted to the crime, while another defendant testified for the prosecution.

The defense argued that the jury had not properly considered the history of sexual abuse Pike had experienced during her childhood. Her lawyers asked for the death sentence to be changed to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.

Governor Lee rejected the clemency request. Pike was the only woman on Tennessee’s death row.