Tennessee woman still alive after attempts to execute her, lawyers say

Nashville: A woman who was set to be executed in Tennessee on Wednesday (US time) was still alive after two syringes of lethal drugs had been administered, her lawyers said.

The apparent failure came after a lengthy legal limbo delayed the execution of the woman, Christa Pike, by about nine hours. The state had raced to go ahead with the execution before the day ended and to avoid having to reschedule.

Pike’s lawyers submitted two emergency filings late on Wednesday in federal and state court to stop the execution and ensure Pike received medical care. They said that while two syringes of pentobarbital, the lethal drug, had been administered, Pike had not lost consciousness. She still had a heartbeat, they said, and was audibly snoring.

It was not immediately clear what went wrong with the administration of the drugs.

Media witnesses described Pike as somewhat alert, at one point singing with her spiritual adviser. Curtains were closed for nearly an hour, reporters said, but they confirmed that they could still hear breathing and steady snoring throughout that time.

Emergency vehicles arrived at the prison shortly after witnesses were escorted out and left about 15 minutes later. It was not clear if Pike had been taken for medical treatment.

“This execution is causing Ms Pike unnecessary agony,” Pike’s lawyers wrote in one filing to the Tennessee Supreme Court, adding that it was a violation of her Eighth Amendment rights that prevent cruel and unusual punishment.

The Tennessee Department of Correction did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

It was the second time this year that Tennessee has struggled to administer the lethal drugs. In May, the state called off one of four planned executions because medical staff could not find a vein while administering a lethal drug.

Pike’s lawyers had argued the procedure could be torturous for her because she has small veins, a history of sexual trauma and other medical conditions.

Pike, 50, would have been the first woman to be executed in the state in more than 200 years. She was set to be executed Wednesday evening after the US Supreme Court allowed the state to proceed just hours before the procedure was botched.

The court’s order came after a divided panel on a federal appeals court earlier in the day briefly paused the execution and said more time was needed to consider the case. Her lawyers had argued that Pike’s initial legal defence did not adequately present her history of child sexual abuse and neglect.

The three liberal justices on the Supreme Court dissented from the order allowing the execution to proceed, with Justice Sonia Sotomayor writing that the majority “unnecessarily prevents” the appeals court from fully considering Pike’s argument.

“I see no reason to short-circuit the ordinary process of appellate review, particularly in light of the grave consequences of an erroneous decision,” Sotomayor wrote. She was joined by Justices Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson.

Sotomayor added that “Tennessee’s desire to expedite Pike’s execution by a few days or even weeks cannot outweigh” Pike’s interest in protecting her own life.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

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