Christa Pike medical help delayed after failed execution in Nashville

Emergency help for Christa Pike was delayed following an attempted execution at a Nashville prison, dispatch recordings show. The delays left the condemned inmate waiting more than 30 minutes for outside medical crews to enter the facility.

The Tennessee Department of Correction has not publicly explained what went wrong during the lethal injection. It remains unclear whether the state will attempt to execute Pike again.

The first emergency call came at 8:40 p.m. on Sept. 30. That call came just over an hour following the attempted execution. The caller could not provide a code to verify the request.

A written transcript showed the caller reported Pike was unconscious and not breathing normally. The caller said officials attempted an execution, but the inmate was still alive. The caller’s name and title were redacted.

At 9:03 p.m., a dispatcher said staff had been told the report was false. Dispatchers were informed no medical help was needed at the facility.

Dispatchers contacted representatives of Central Control at Riverbend Maximum Security Institution. According to a recording at 9:07 p.m., Central Control staff said they had not placed any call.

One of Pike’s attorneys, Kelly Gleason, made an additional call at 9:08 p.m. She urged dispatchers to send help.

“My client, Christa Gail Pike, is undergoing a state execution. She has completed the stages of the protocol and last we knew from the attorney who is present, she is still alive and breathing and needs immediate life-saving care,” Gleason said on the call.

A first responder outside the gate radioed dispatchers for help verifying the scene. Someone claiming to be a state official was demanding crews enter.

Central Control confirmed the request a few minutes later. Responders were allowed through the gates at about 9:11 p.m.

Medics transported Pike to a hospital at 9:34 p.m. Crews checked with dispatch to ensure prison officials knew the destination.

Pike, 50, survived two doses of pentobarbital during the execution attempt. The sentence stemmed from the 1995 torture and killing of Colleen Slemmer.

Pike was 18 at the time of the crime. She was sentenced to death.

The state protocol calls for a second dose if the first dose fails. The rules do not state what happens if an inmate survives both.

Pike was placed on a ventilator for several days. She regained consciousness the following Tuesday, according to her attorneys.

Lawyers said Pike spoke with limited capacity and walked with help. She returned to the women’s prison on Saturday.

The Nashville Department of Emergency Communications released the audio recordings with redactions. Police said the first call audio was legally exempt from public release.

Tennessee’s execution protocol details the administrative steps required during lethal injections. Riverbend Maximum Security Institution houses the state execution chamber in Nashville. Gov. Bill Lee paused further executions during an official state review.

Pike had been incarcerated for 30 years prior to the execution attempt.