Emergency calls released after Christa Pike's botched execution show delays as Tennessee officials and first responders tried to confirm whether the request was real. Pike survived two injections of pentobarbital and was taken to hospital in critical condition.
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01Summary
- 01The recordings were first obtained by the Associated Press and released by the Nashville Department of Emergency Communications.
- 02Dispatchers were heard trying to work out whether the call from the execution chamber at Riverbend Prison was genuine or a prank.
- 03Christa Pike's defence attorney, Kelly Gleason, said in a call that Pike was still alive and breathing and needed immediate life-saving care.
- 04Pike, 50, was sentenced to death for the 1995 murder of Colleen Slemmer with her then-boyfriend.
- 05Pike survived two injections of pentobarbital on 30 September and was taken to hospital in a critical condition.
02Why it matters
The calls raise questions about how emergency help is handled during executions and how quickly life-saving care can be given. They also add detail to a case that is likely to draw attention because of the rarity and seriousness of a failed execution.
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