Emergency help delayed after failed execution of Christa Pike

Summarised from 2 outlets · Updated 12 Oct, 22:31 · Archive

Emergency responders faced confusion lasting over half an hour after a failed lethal injection execution in Tennessee.

Emergency responders faced over half an hour of confusion after a failed lethal injection execution in Tennessee on 30 September, according to 911 dispatch recordings reviewed by The Associated Press. The first emergency call came in at 8:40 p.m. from Riverbend Prison, but the recordings show precious minutes elapsed as officials and responders tried to determine whether the request was legitimate.

At 9:03 p.m., an unidentified person reported: 'Per supervisors here .... we have been informed it is a false call. There is no medical assistance needed at Riverbend Prison.' Four minutes later, a responder reported that someone outside the prison gate was demanding emergency entry, claiming to be a state official. Prison officials did not affirm the call as legitimate until 9:11 p.m.

Christa Pike, 50, survived two doses of pentobarbital during the execution attempt. She was convicted of the 1995 beating and stabbing death of classmate Colleen Slemmer. Pike was hospitalised and placed on a ventilator, with her attorneys initially not expecting her to survive. However, she recovered, began talking and walking with assistance, and has since been discharged and returned to the Debra K. Johnson Rehabilitation Center, where she had been housed for 30 years.

How it is being reported

• Emergency help was delayed by confusion after failed execution of Christa Pike, 911 calls revealEmergency help for Christa Pike was delayed by confusion among first responders and Tennessee prison officials following her failed execution last month, according to 911 dispatch recordings reviewed by The Associated Press.Clickorlando · 12 Oct, 22:02
• Emergency help was delayed by confusion after failed execution of Christa Pike, 911 calls revealEmergency help for Christa Pike was delayed by confusion among first responders and Tennessee prison officials following her failed execution last month, according to 911 dispatch recordings reviewed by The Associated Press.News4Jax · 12 Oct, 22:02

In this story: Christa Pike · Colleen Slemmer · Tennessee · Riverbend Prison · Debra K. Johnson Rehabilitation Center

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