Christa Pike's attorney describes botched execution, concerns about 'blown' veins
New court filings detail how one of Christa Pike's attorneys says Tennessee Department of Correction personnel who carried out the botched execution of Christa Pike appeared to struggle to establish intravenous lines to administer the lethal injection.
Pike survived being administered two doses of pentobarbital during her attempted execution at the Riverbend Maximum Security Institution in Nashville on Sept. 30.
In a newly filed declaration from one of her attorneys who witnessed the attempted execution, Randy Spivey with the Tennessee Office of the Post-Conviction Defender stated that members of TDOC's IV team appeared to use approximately 10 needles to administer pentobarbital.
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ABC News has obtained new court documents that reveal
the timeline leading up to the botched execution of Krista Pike.
In the month leading up to the night of September 30th,
Pike's attorneys raised concerns about her execution,
arguing in a court motion that she has a history of vein issues.
According to these new documents, at 6.34 p.m.,
a team began the execution process.
As one team member held what appeared
to be a vein-finding device over Pike's right arm,
repeatedly examining and poking her skin while trying to find a vein.
Pike began offering suggestions about where
the team could find a suitable vein.
The documents then outlined multiple attempts
by the team to find a vein and failing,
something legal experts say Pike's attorneys will capitalize on.
Documents also share that a team member appeared
unsure whether he successfully inserted an IV
and expressed concern that a vein may have blown,
a term used when a vein is damaged or an IV insertion fails.
The team using approximately 10 needles
and a total of two doses of pentobarbital.
By 8.06 p.m., Pike's attorneys realized she was still alive
and told the Tennessee Department of Corrections
they were not allowed to administer a third push of pentobarbital
and asked the department to stop the execution.
What they might look at now is to establish protocols
if someone has a certain size of veins
or a certain illness that might inhibit
the ability to execute the death penalty properly,
or if there is a second attempt and it doesn't work, what do they
do going forward that might help future people in death row?
By 8.50 p.m., an ambulance was on its way, and by 9.10 p.m., Pike's
attorneys were told medical staff were performing life-saving measures.
Pike was on a ventilator for several days.
She eventually regained consciousness
and returned to prison after being discharged.
Her attorneys are pushing to have her death sentence commuted,
arguing the failed execution constitutes cruel and unusual punishment.
The state's Department of Correction Commission resigned
in the days after the botched execution,
and Tennessee's governor paused all scheduled executions in the state
while an independent review is underway.
Jacqueline Lee, ABC News, Los Angeles.