NRT briefing
US emergency call records reveal confusion after failed execution of Christa Pike
Based on reporting by BBC News.
The Brief
Emergency call records have revealed confusion among prison staff and emergency call handlers after the execution of convicted murderer Christa Pike in Tennessee went wrong on 30 September. Pike, 50, who killed Colleen Slemmer in 1995, was given two doses of lethal injection.
When she did not die, she was taken to hospital. The initial call from Riverbend Prison at 20:40 was initially dismissed as false because the caller could not verify themselves with a code. Confusion was compounded when other prison staff said they "did not make that call."
The call was verified at 21:11, after which responders were allowed through the gates. A later call noted the "confusion" as Pike was taken to hospital. The AP news agency first obtained the audio. Pike's legal team says the pentobarbital likely spread under her skin rather than reaching her bloodstream.
She has since been discharged from hospital, facing a "long road to recovery." Tennessee Governor Bill Lee has paused executions for the rest of the year and an investigation is underway. The state corrections head is resigning.