Christa Pike, the only woman on Tennessee’s death row, remains unconscious, critically ill, and on a ventilator in a hospital following a botched execution attempt, her attorneys said on Friday. Lawyers Stephen Ferrell and Luke Ihnen stated that Pike is being treated for the severe effects of the pentobarbital administered during the procedure on Wednesday night, which included significant injuries to both arms. Pike was the first woman the state planned to execute in over 200 years. Attorneys and witnesses described the event as cruel and torturous, noting that Pike could be heard breathing and snoring loudly long after the drugs were administered and witnesses were escorted from the chamber. Governor Bill Lee ordered a third-party review and a temporary halt to scheduled executions while questions are investigated. The U.S. Supreme Court had previously voted 6-3 to allow the execution to proceed by lifting a lower court’s stay. Pike, 50, was sentenced to death for the 1995 murder of 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer.
Source: abcnews.com
