Christa Gail Pike survived on Wednesday after being given two doses of the lethal drug pentobarbital, according to her lawyers.
Pike, 50, was alive and loudly snoring after the attempted lethal injection and was taken by an ambulance from the prison, her attorneys said.
uncertain
attorneys → survive → prison
She was being treated at a hospital, but they said they hadn't been told about her condition.
asserted
they → treat → condition
She had been scheduled for execution at 10 a.m. Wednesday for the killing she committed at age 18 and would have been the first woman executed in Tennessee in more than 200 years.
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she → schedule → years
A death penalty expert said it was an unprecedented failure, and Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee halted the remaining executions for the rest of the year.
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Lee → say → year
Officials gave Pike two doses of pentobarbital, her attorneys said in court filings late Wednesday.
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attorneys → give → filings
The Biden administration had previously removed pentobarbital from the federal protocol for single-drug lethal injections over concerns about the potential for unnecessary pain and suffering.
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administration → remove → pain
Gov. Bill Lee said in a statement that he has ordered "a comprehensive, third-party review to determine exactly what occurred" and that the remaining scheduled execution will not take place this year.
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execution → say → place
"Carrying out a lawfully imposed sentence is among the State's most serious responsibilities, and the people of Tennessee expect it to be done in a manner that is not only legal and constitutional, but is effective," he said.
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he → carry → manner
The Tennessee Department of Correction said in a statement that they "followed every step of the State's lawful, established execution protocol approved by the Attorney General's Office."
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they → say → Office
The state's execution protocol calls for a secondary set of drug syringes to be administered "if the inmate is not deceased" after the first set.
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inmate → call → set
It does not spell out what happens if the subject is alive after the second set.
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subject → spell → set
Robin M. Maher, executive director of the Death Penalty Information Center, said what Pike experienced is "singular and unparalleled."
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Pike → say → Center
Seven other people have survived medical problems due to an execution team's failure to access a vein to administer lethal injection drugs, but no one has stayed alive after receiving the drugs used in such executions, she said.
Media witnesses observing from a separate room said officials raised curtains to the execution chamber at 7:27 p.m., showing Pike strapped to a gurney.
Christa Pike’s ‘last words’
"I'm going to leave this world the way I spent most of my life and that is in love," she said in her "last" words.
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she → survive → words
She described herself as at peace.
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She → describe → peace
But Pike remained awake and at one point raised her head and asked prison officials if her arm was supposed to feel that way.
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arm → remain → officials
It was unclear what she was referring to.
uncertain
she → refer → what
By 8:26 p.m., execution witnesses reported that the second dose of pentobarbital had been administered.
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dose → report → pentobarbital
Pike continued to snore behind the closed curtain until the microphone was cut off at 8:53 p.m.
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microphone → continue → p.m.
At that time, an announcement told media witnesses to leave the area.
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announcement → tell → area
Lawyers for Pike filed an emergency motion late Wednesday to the Tennessee Supreme Court seeking to immediately halt and stay the execution, saying she was in "unnecessary agony" and it was violating her right to be executed free of cruel and unusual punishment.
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it → file → punishment
They also filed motions in the Sixth Circuit Court and a district court.
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They → file → Court
It was the second time this year that Tennessee has been unable to carry out an execution: In May, state officials called off the lethal injection of Tony Carruthers, who was convicted of kidnapping and killing three people in 1994, after executioners tried and failed for over an hour to place an IV to administer pentobarbital.
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executioners → carry → pentobarbital
Pentobarbital, a barbiturate that slows activity of the brain and nervous system, is often used by doctors to treat seizures and convulsions.
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that → slow → seizures
In an execution, pentobarbital can be used in combination with other drugs or by itself.
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pentobarbital → use → itself
So far this year, 14 inmates have been executed by single-drug doses of pentobarbital — seven in Texas, six in Missouri and one in Georgia.
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inmates → execute → Georgia
In America, pentobarbital is known by its brand name, Nembutal.
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pentobarbital → know → name
Despite the limited availability of pentobarbital, it has been used in many cases of euthanasia or assisted suicide across the world.
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it → use → world
It belongs to the class of drugs known as barbiturates.
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It → belong → barbiturates
Invented in the late 19th century, they depress various aspects of brain function.
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they → invent → function
Barbiturates have been used for many purposes, including to treat sleep disorders, epilepsy and traumatic brain injury.
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Barbiturates → use → disorders
In high doses, these drugs can cause suppression of breathing and death.
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drugs → cause → breathing
Because of the risks associated with overdoses, they have been withdrawn from routine medical use over the last 20 years.
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they → associate → years
History of pentobarbital
States use a variety of drugs and drug combinations in lethal injections.
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States → use → injections
Attorney General Merrick Garland in the final days of the Biden administration withdrew the pentobarbital lethal injection policy after a government review of scientific and medical research found there remains “significant uncertainty” about whether its use causes unnecessary pain and suffering.”
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use → withdraw → pain
The Justice Department this year reauthorized the use of single-drug lethal injections with pentobarbital that were used to carry out 13 executions during the first Trump administration — more than under any president in modern history.
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that → reauthorize → history
A Trump administration report claimed the Biden administration ‘got the standard and the science wrong’..
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standard → claim → ?
The Biden administration’s findings, among other things, “failed to address the overwhelming evidence” that an inmate injected with pentobarbital quickly “loses consciousness—rendering him unable to experience pain,” the report said.
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report → fail → pain
“The prior administration failed in its duty to protect the American people by refusing to pursue and carry out the ultimate punishment against the most dangerous criminals, including terrorists, child murderers, and cop killers,” Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said in a statement at the time.
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Blanche → fail → time
“Under President Trump’s leadership, the Department of Justice is once again enforcing the law and standing with victims.”
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Department → enforce → victims
Since capital punishment was reinstated in the 1970s, more than 1,600 prisoners have been executed in the United States, the vast majority by state authorities.
asserted
prisoners → reinstate → authorities
The Aporia
