Overview
- Christa Pike survived two doses of pentobarbital during a September 30 execution attempt and was taken to Vanderbilt Medical Center where she was placed on a ventilator before later regaining consciousness and returning to prison.
- Newly released 911 dispatch recordings show the first call at the prison could not be verified because the caller lacked the facility code, and a dispatcher told responders at about 9:03 p.m. that supervisors had labeled the call false.
- First responders were delayed at the prison gate while officials worked to confirm the emergency and Central Control did not acknowledge making the call until roughly 9:11 p.m., slowing ambulance access to Pike.
- Pike’s lawyers had warned months earlier that she has a blood disorder and very small, hard-to-access veins and witnesses reported multiple failed IV attempts during the execution, including needles that bent and likely tissue, not vein, injections.
- In response, Governor Bill Lee paused Tennessee executions, ordered an independent review, courts ordered preservation of execution evidence and reopened Pike’s legal challenge, while officials and lawyers debate whether another lawful execution attempt is possible.