USA. – An execution attempt in Tennessee on Wednesday night failed after Christa Gail Pike (50) received two doses of the lethal drug pentobarbital, but according to witnesses continued breathing and even snored. According to various reports, Pike is the only woman on Tennessee's death row and also the only woman to be executed in more than 200 years.
Pike was found guilty in 1995 of torturing and murdering 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer when Pike was 18 years old. Her execution was halted earlier Wednesday by an appellate court pending a legal case over whether her alleged childhood sexual abuse was properly considered during her sentencing proceedings. The US Supreme Court quickly lifted the stay, after which the state proceeded with the execution process.
According to media witnesses, Pike complained of pain in her arm during the process and asked if it was normal. She reportedly breathed heavily, groaned and later snored loudly. The curtain in front of the execution chamber was closed at 19:46 and opened again three minutes later, after which witnesses could still hear her snoring. It was later closed again and her snoring could be heard by witnesses until around 20:53.
Pike's lawyers meanwhile filed an urgent motion asking that the process be stopped immediately and life-saving medical treatment be started. They argued that Pike still had a heartbeat after two doses of pentobarbital. She was later taken by ambulance to a hospital. Her current medical condition has not yet been officially announced.
Governor Bill Lee ordered a comprehensive independent investigation following the incident and announced that no further executions will be carried out in Tennessee this year. The Tennessee Department of Correctional Services said the state followed the approved execution protocol.
According to court records, Pike lured her 17-year-old boyfriend Tadaryl Shipp and Shadolla Peterson with Slemmer to a remote area on 12 January 1995. Slemmer was reportedly attacked there for between 30 and 45 minutes. She was repeatedly cut and struck on the head. Her mouth was covered to prevent her from speaking, and a pentagram was carved on her chest with a knife. The court found that most of the wounds were inflicted while Slemmer was still alive.
Pike later told other people, according to testimony, that she cut Slemmer's throat and hit her. After the murder, she kept a piece of Slemmer's skull as a memento. The bone fragment was later found in the pocket of Pike's jacket. Pike was found guilty of murder and sentenced to death. The Tennessee Supreme Court upheld the guilty verdict and death sentence in 1998. Her defence argued in later legal challenges that her childhood history of sexual abuse, her age and her mental health were not properly considered during the imposition of her death sentence. These claims form part of the legal arguments surrounding her execution and must be stated as the defence's position.
Sources: Associated Press, Associated Press, Al Jazeera, ABC News, Fox 5 Atlanta
This article is an automatic English translation of a Nuusflits article originally published in Afrikaans. Read the Afrikaans original.
