Christa Pike’s lawyer reveals minute-by-minute account of her execution attempt in new court filings, says ‘staff warned her veins might be blowing’

Christa Pike’s attorney filed court documents on Thursday, October 22, disclosing what happened before her attempted execution. The 50-year-old woman was hospitalized on September 30 after surviving two doses of pentobarbital. Pike was sentenced to death for torturing and killing her classmate, Colleen Slemmer in 1995 when she was 18.

Her attorney, Randy Spivey had noe provided a detailed look and what went on before her execution attempt. Spivey had now released a minute by minute retelling of Pike's attempted execution, which he witnessed in the death chamber. The new declaration is different from the ongoing court proceedings and is his most detailed account yet.

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IV staff had doubts even before execution attempt

According to the court filings, the execution staff failed several times to establish IV lines on Pike’s arms before the execution attempt. The team struggled to find Pike’s vein for nearly an hour, they began looking at 6:35 pm and finished at 7:24 pm when they left.

Spivey has revealed that the team had warned that her vein might have ruptured or be “blowing”, before the procedure was carried out and she was injected with pentobarbital. The IV staff used about 10 needles, trying to identify IV sites on both of Pike’s arms, in an attempt to establish a line. According to Spivey’s account, the team discussed among themselves at about 20 minutes into the ordeal that Pike’s vein “might be blowing”.

The attorney said that two members of the IV team then began poking the site where they were trying to establish a line. They agreed that there was no sign if they were successful in finding Pike’s vein, upon which one of them said, “It’s either blood or blown, I need to know,” Spivey wrote in the filings.

They tried once again at a different spot, but according to Spivey the needle was bent when it was pulled out. After several more attempts, the team was done at 7:13 pm. The team had managed to set up a line in Pike’s right arm within about 6 minutes of starting, however, it took them about an hour to establish a line in her left arm. They then taped her hands down and connected her to a heart monitor.

Pike struggled as they tried to set up an IV line

According to Spivey, Pike constantly struggled while the team tried to establish IV lines on both her arms. Pike said, “I feel like my arm is about to bust. It burns,” she said at about 7:34 pm, although it was not clear when the pentobarbital was given through the IV lines. She then continued to talk to her spiritual advisor for the next 10 minutes, Spivey wrote in the court filings.

Spivey further wrote in the filings that over the next 30 minutes, Pike remained alive making sounds akin to choking. She kept moving her head, flinching and appeared to struggle to breathe.

Her lawyer asked for the execution to be stopped

According to the court filings, Pike’s attorney, upon seeing her struggle, asked to use a phone, but was not allowed to do so in the execution witness room. Spivey said the staff then led him “circuitous route” through the facility for seven minutes.

He then called his fellow attorneys at around 8:22 pm and asked the staff to stop Pike’s execution. The protocol in Tennessee calls for a second dose of pentobarbital, if the first fails however does not authorise a third or iterate what happens if the second fails as well. He asked the deputy attorney general to call for medical care to be administered to Pike.

According to Spivey’s account, he was told that an ambulance was on the way at 8:50 pm, while 20 minutes later he was told that medical professionals were giving Pike life saving measures.

Pike remained on a ventilator for several days, but ultimately regained consciousness and returned to prison. She is now speaking in small sentences.