A needle used in the failed execution of a woman in the US appeared “bent” when it was removed, her lawyer has claimed.
Christa Pike, 50, was set to be executed by lethal injection at the Riverbend Maximum Security Institution in Nashville, Tennessee, on Wednesday night.
WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Christa Pike receives life-saving care after botched execution in Tennessee
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But what was supposed to be a painless passing for the convicted murderer, turned into an hours-long ordeal that she survived. Pike is now on a ventilator in hospital.
Pike’s attorneys have now claimed the team behind the execution failed at injecting her with a lethal dose of pentobarbital not once, but twice.
They said in a court filing that the executioners had instead missed her veins with the IV lines, causing the chemical to flow into her body instead of her bloodstream.
“Apparently at no point did any member of the execution team realize that the IV lines were not correctly placed or that the veins had blown and that the pentobarbital was, in whole or in part, entering Pike’s body,” the court filing read.
A needle used in the failed execution of convicted murderer Christa Pike appeared ‘bent’ when it was removed, her attorneys have claimed. Credit: AP They added that instead of “remedying this failure,” the execution team prepared and administered a second dose of pentobarbital which was also unsuccessful in killing their client.
The filing also noted at least seven needles were used during the attempted execution, with one appearing “bent” at a 90-degree angle when it was removed.
In a press conference on Thursday, local time, Pike’s lawyer Randy Spivey lambasted the Tennessee government, saying the state was “not capable of carrying out an execution consistent with basic human dignity”.
“Last night was not just inefficient, it was cruel, and it was torturous. It was also predictable,” Spivey added.
Witnesses said Pike was “snoring” throughout the process, but they were whisked away as problems began to arise.
Her attorneys have urged the state court to order the Tennessee Department of Correction to preserve all evidence from the failed execution.
“Preserving this evidence is essential to understanding what happened, ensuring accountability and protecting Christa’s legal rights,” two of her attorneys said in a statement.
Pike survived two lethal injections on Wednesday night and is currently receiving life-saving care in hospital. Credit: George Walker IV/AP She was 18 when she and her boyfriend tortured and killed a classmate, Colleen Slemmer, in a jealous rage. She later became one of the youngest women to be sent to death row.
Following the killing, Pike was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder, her attorneys said.
“It took me numerous years to even realize the gravity of what I’d done. Even more to accept how many lives I affected. I took the life of someone’s child, sister, friend. It sickens me now to think I had the ability to commit such a crime,” Pike said in an earlier clemency petition.
The mother of the 19-year-old woman Pike killed expressed frustration over the failed execution. “I didn’t get justice for my daughter,” May Martinez said Thursday.
— with AP