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Tennessee inmate who survived failed execution says she is in constant pain

In her first public statement, Christa Pike cites incompetence, and Gov. Bill Lee says he expects her sentence to stand unless courts rule otherwise.

14 news outlets reported this
Liberal5 outletsCenter5 outletsConservative4 outlets
Published 3 min read
Overview

Christa Pike, 50, issued her first public statement on Friday, Oct. 30, a month after Tennessee tried and failed to execute her. She dictated it to her lawyers, who released it. She said she has been in constant pain since Sept. 30, when she received two doses of pentobarbital, and that she still struggles to speak.

She said she had made peace with dying and "had not contemplated life beyond that night." She said she is deeply hurt by the incompetence that put many people in this position. She also said she is largely isolated in the prison's medical ward and compared it to her 28 years in solitary confinement.

Pike was sentenced to death in 1996 for the 1995 killing of Colleen Slemmer, 19, who attended the same Job Corps program in Knoxville. Pike was 18. After the attempt, Gov. Bill Lee, a Republican, paused Tennessee's remaining executions this year and ordered an independent review.

This week he said he suspects her sentence will stay the same unless the courts decide otherwise. Her attorneys have asked him to reduce it. Outlets name the third person charged in the killing differently.

Three sides of the story

Liberal5 outlets

Left-leaning outlets build their reports around Pike's account of ongoing pain and isolation, quoting her statement at length. The Guardian adds that the execution team spent almost an hour trying to set up an IV line, that 5g of pentobarbital was injected, and that medical experts told it they were shocked by the apparent incompetence. It says her statement does not name state authorities but that her criticism is plainly aimed at them.

HuffPost reports her lawyers saying her arms were burned and blistered, that she was first on a ventilator, and that experts have looked at whether the drug pooled in tissue because of an IV problem. It also notes the prison chief's resignation. The Independent reports a lawyer's claim of about 10 needles and that Tadaryl Shipp was denied .

MS NOW and HuffPost note Lee's remarks and the attorneys' request to reduce her sentence. These outlets mention Pike's words about the victim's family and describe the killing briefly.

Center5 outlets

Centrist outlets pair the statement with background on how the attempt unfolded and where Pike's case stands. BBC reports she was in critical condition, that her lawyers earlier cited pneumonia and swollen arms, and that the Department of Correction has not explained what went wrong, has defended its method and declined to comment. It also notes the and Lee declined to block the execution beforehand.

UPI includes a statement from Robin Maher of the Information Center calling the attempt the worst the group has seen. It also quotes Slemmer's mother, May Martinez, who said the state owes her "a big apology." UPI quotes Lee on her sentence too.

Straight Arrow cites legal filings alleging repeated failures to set IV lines and about 10 needles. It reports that any new execution date would come next year at the earliest and that Pike's long-term prognosis is unclear.

Conservative4 outlets

Right-leaning outlets report Pike's statement alongside the crime and the political and legal fallout. Fox News and the Washington Examiner describe the 1995 killing in graphic detail, including the carved pentagram and a blow with asphalt. Fox adds that Pike later confessed and that her attorneys once believed she was brain-dead before she regained consciousness.

The New York Post calls the episode a "fiasco," reports that prison chief Frank Strada resigned, and says Lee, who leaves office in January, signaled her sentence will stand. It also reports a judge reopened her civil case and ordered evidence preserved, a point the Daily Wire shares. The Daily Wire reports Sen. Marsha Blackburn, a Republican running for governor, wants the electric chair used as the main method.

The Washington Examiner says it is unclear whether the state will try again, and that her team has asked Lee for .

Where outlets disagree
  • Who the third person charged with Pike and Shipp in Slemmer's killing was
    • The Daily Wire: Names the third person as friend Marissa Barr.
    • UPI: Names the other young woman as Shadolla Peterson, who testified against Pike and Shipp and received probation.
All sources: 15 articles from 14 outlets

Liberal (6)

Center (5)

Conservative (4)

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