Tennessee IV Team Admits Vein Damage
A court filing reveals execution staff warned Christa Pike's veins may have ruptured before administering lethal drugs.
By Sarah Montgomery ·
Tennessee execution staff reported that Christa Pike's veins may have ruptured before they administered lethal injection, according to a court filing. The document provides a minute-by-minute account of the Sept. 30 attempt, during which Pike survived two doses of pentobarbital and was left hospitalized.
Attorney Randy Spivey wrote that the IV team used approximately 10 needles to establish lines in Pike's arms. The team struggled for nearly an hour to place the left IV line. During the process, one member stated a vein "might be blowing," and another later said, "I think it's blown." A needle removed from the arm appeared severely bent.
The protocol requires two IV lines and allows for a second dose of pentobarbital if the first fails, but it does not specify procedures if the inmate survives the second dose. Pike, 50, was placed on a ventilator for several days after the attempt. Her attorneys initially feared she would not survive, but she regained consciousness and has returned to prison.
The filing was submitted in a separate legal challenge to Tennessee's lethal injection procedures. Kit Thomas, an attorney for death row inmates, stated that predictions of botched executions had come true. He argued that these failures would continue without substantial changes to the state's methods.
Pike was convicted in the 1995 stabbing death of her classmate Colleen Slemmer. She was 18 at the time of the crime and became one of the youngest women sentenced to death in the state. The execution team began placing IV lines at 6:34 p.m. on Sept. 30. Pike assisted by suggesting they check her upper arm for usable veins.
Phone calls to the execution chamber began about five minutes after the IV lines were set. Spivey noted that staff pushing the drug from an adjoining room repeatedly asked the IV team to check Pike's left arm. Pike reported burning sensations and said her arm felt like it was about to bust. Over the next 30 minutes, she strained and struggled to breathe. Spivey called for the execution to stop at 8:22 p.m., noting a third dose was not authorized. An ambulance arrived at the hospital at 9:14 p.m.
