Kristi Pike on ventilator after failed lethal injection in Tennessee
Attorneys filed court documents after Pike survived two lethal doses of pentobarbital and was taken to a hospital near Nashville
Kristi Pike, a 50-year-old death-row inmate in Tennessee, was unconscious, intubated and connected to a ventilator Thursday evening after authorities failed to carry out her execution by lethal injection, her attorneys wrote in court filings.
According to the filings, Pike had been given two lethal doses of pentobarbital on Wednesday but remained alive and was later transported by ambulance to a hospital near Nashville.
Defense lawyers ask for sentence review
Pike — who was sentenced to death in 1996 for the murder of Colin Slemmer — remains in the hospital in what her attorneys described as a "critical condition." The lawyers have asked the court to overturn or commute her death sentence following the unsuccessful execution attempt.
The filings do not detail the medical prognosis beyond the description that she was intubated and on life support, nor do they explain why the lethal injection failed after the two doses of pentobarbital. The case raises legal and ethical questions about whether a failed execution can lead to a change in sentence.
Authorities in Tennessee have not released additional details publicly in the filings, and court review of the attorneys' requests could determine whether Pike's sentence is altered or if further legal proceedings are required.
Photo: press material from the event
