The convicted murderer Christa Pike, sentenced to death, has survived two lethal injections \u2013 we take a look at the situation and what might happen next.<\/p>\n
Why was Christa Pike on death row?<\/p>\n
Pike, now 50, was sentenced to death in 1996<\/a> at the age of 20 over the murder of 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer in 1995. Pike and her then boyfriend, Tadaryl Shipp, killed Slemmer at a job training camp in Knoxville, Tennessee. In a grim revelation it emerged that a satanic symbol had been carved into Slemmer\u2019s chest.<\/p>\n According to the Death Penalty Information Center<\/a>, the last execution of a woman in Tennessee was in 1820, meaning Pike would have been the first woman to be executed in the state in more than 200 years.<\/p>\n Campaigners have long argued that Pike should be taken off death row, with Amnesty International noting Pike endured rape, sexual and physical violence, abuse and neglect during her childhood.<\/p>\n \u201cThe state failed to protect her as a child despite having knowledge of what she was facing. Her court-appointed lawyers then failed her at her trial, presenting little of the mitigating evidence of this abuse or its psychological consequences,\u201d the organisation has said<\/a>.<\/p>\n Earlier this week Tennessee\u2019s governor, Bill Lee, denied Pike\u2019s request for clemency. On Wednesday, the execution was temporarily blocked by judges on the sixth circuit court of appeals. However, the US supreme court subsequently stepped<\/a> in to overturn the stay, allowing the execution to proceed.<\/p>\n Did the execution go ahead?<\/p>\n Pike was given two lethal injections late on Wednesday, but she survived both, with witnesses reporting she was still breathing after the second attempt, and some stating she was heard to snore.<\/p>\n Pike has now been taken to the hospital.<\/p>\n The Tennessee department of \u200bcorrection said in a statement: \u201cThe lethal \u2060injection chemical in the protocol has consistently been effective, \u200band \u200bthe protocol does \u200bnot allow for additional procedures beyond what \u200bwas carried \u200cout this \u200bevening.\u201d<\/p>\n What\u2019s in a lethal injection?<\/p>\n The substances used in lethal injections vary by state. Most states either use a protocol involving three different drugs \u2013 one to sedate the prisoner, one to paralyse their muscles and one to stop their heart \u2013 or a single drug.<\/p>\n Tennessee takes the latter approach, using an injection of a barbiturate called pentobarbital.<\/p>\n \u201cPentobarbital usually takes effect within seconds to minutes of injection,\u201d said Richard Levy, a professor of anesthesiology and pediatrics at the Stanford University School of Medicine.<\/p>\n \u201cThe intended goal of pentobarbital injection is to render the inmate unconscious and then to induce apnea \u2013 cessation of breathing. It is the cessation of breathing that then results in hypoxia \u2013 lack of adequate oxygen. Ultimately the heart stops and the prisoner dies,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cHowever, pentobarbital may not always induce apnea \u2013 if dose is not high enough or injection is not successfully injected into a vein \u2013 and the inmate may not stop breathing. Without apnea, the injection will likely not result in death.\u201d<\/p>\n All lethal injections have been the subject of controversy,<\/a> as is the death penalty itself. However, pentobarbital was removed from the federal protocol by the Biden administration over concerns <\/a>that it could cause unnecessary pain and suffering. It was later reauthorised by the Trump administration.<\/p>\n How could Pike have survived two doses of pentobarbital?<\/p>\n No official explanation has been provided. The Tennessee department of correction said in a statement that they \u201cfollowed every step of the State\u2019s lawful, established execution protocol approved by the Attorney General\u2019s Office\u201d.<\/p>\n