Photo Credit: George Walker IV/The Associated Press via The Globe and Mail
On Sept. 30, Christa Pike survived two lethal injections in Tennessee, sparking controversy surrounding the attempt of a third lethal injection.
Death penalty expert Austin Sarat shared that approximately 8 per cent of lethal injections given in the United States have been ‘botched,’ meaning that while something went wrong, the person still died, according to CBC News.
“What happened to Christa Pike was not a botched execution; it was a failed execution, and it’s very rare,” Sarat told CBC News. According to health reporter Catherine Sweeney, Pike was given two lethal injections, and she was still breathing when media witnesses were told to leave, as per WPLN News.
Experts interviewed by Newsweek outlined three possible explanations surrounding the drug’s malfunction: the drug may have degraded, meaning it had lost its strength, the drug may have never fully entered Pike’s bloodstream, or Pike could have reacted differently to the injection. Tennessee does not disclose drug suppliers for lethal injections, and therefore the state has not said which company produced Pike’s injection dose.
James Crowson, who represented Christa Pike during part of her legal battles, told The Guardian, “I knew that there were a number of defense filings saying that she had compromised veins, and that was going to be a difficult and perhaps cruel procedure for her because it was going to put her at risk for exactly what happened.”
Pike has a blood disorder called thrombocytosis which results in a higher chance of blood clots due to platelets sticking together to stop bleeding.
As of Oct. 6, Christa Pike was conscious and speaking, and a few days later, she was also walking. Pike was returned to jail on Oct. 10.
Tennessee Governor Bill Lee said he has ordered a "comprehensive, third party review” of Pike's execution, as per the Death Penalty Information Centre. Lee told NewsNation that “the remaining scheduled executions will not be carried out this year,” and Pike's attorneys have asked for a court order to preserve all evidence from the failed execution.
Tennessee state law stipulates that for a person to be executed, they must understand why they are receiving the death penalty. Since Pike does not have a clear memory of what happened, questions surrounding the ethics of the execution have also arisen.