Tennessee's execution of Christa Pike failed spectacularly Wednesday night at Riverbend Maximum Security Institution. The 50-year-old remained alive and audibly snoring on the gurney for over an hour after executioners administered two separate lethal doses of pentobarbital.
The execution chamber curtain dropped mid-procedure. Audio cut. Witnesses were escorted out while Pike continued loud agonal breathing. The warden halted the process before the midnight warrant expired.
Tennessee has now suspended all executions for the rest of the year. An independent inquiry will investigate whether the failure was due to degraded chemicals, compounding errors, line blockages, or dosing problems.
Pike was convicted in a 1995 torture-murder case and is one of the youngest women ever sentenced to death in the U.S.
The execution chamber curtain dropped mid-procedure. Audio cut. Witnesses were escorted out while Pike continued loud agonal breathing. The warden halted the process before the midnight warrant expired.
Tennessee has now suspended all executions for the rest of the year. An independent inquiry will investigate whether the failure was due to degraded chemicals, compounding errors, line blockages, or dosing problems.
Pike was convicted in a 1995 torture-murder case and is one of the youngest women ever sentenced to death in the U.S.
