Tennessee governor resists commutation calls after Pike's failed execution
In short
Christa Pike survived two doses of the lethal injection drug pentobarbital in Tennessee's execution chamber at Riverbend Maximum Security Institution in Nashville, and her lawyers said her arms were burned and blistered. Her lawyer, Assistant Federal Defender Stephen Ferrell, has called on Governor Bill Lee to commute her death sentence to life in prison. Lee has so far resisted, saying his responsibility is to uphold the sentences Tennessee juries have handed down, and it remains unclear whether Pike will be put to death again.
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Christa Pike survived two doses of the lethal injection drug pentobarbital during an execution attempt in Tennessee, and her lawyers said her arms were burned and blistered, Newsweek reported. The attempt took place in the state's execution chamber at the Riverbend Maximum Security Institution in Nashville. Had the execution succeeded, she would have been the first woman put to death in Tennessee in more than 200 years, according to the report. [ 2 ]
Pike's lawyer, Assistant Federal Defender Stephen Ferrell, has called on Tennessee Governor Bill Lee, a Republican, to commute her sentence. Speaking on CNN's State of the Union, Ferrell said: “I think, at the very least, the governor should commute Ms. Pike's death sentence to a life sentence,” adding that “she has endured a torturous attempt at executing her.” CNN also reported the attorney's call for commutation. [ 1 , 2 ]
Lee has so far resisted those calls. The New York Post reported that the governor said his “responsibility is to uphold the sentences that Tennessee juries have handed down,” and that “the people of Tennessee have determined that the death penalty is the appropriate penalty.” All state executions set to take place this year have since been suspended, but Lee has not ruled out Pike being put to death at a later date, the Post reported. [ 3 ]
Robin Maher, executive director of the Death Penalty Information Center, told USA Today that the situation is “uncharted territory,” and that the US Supreme Court has not decided whether a second execution attempt would violate the constitution since 1947. Maher suspects a second attempt would “likely be unconstitutional,” and said: “These are questions that have never needed to be asked before and no one knows the answers.” [ 3 ]
Reports of Pike's condition differ. Newsweek reported that Ferrell said Pike had remained unconscious and on a ventilator in hospital since the failed execution, and that few details of her condition had emerged. The New York Post reported she was conscious and speaking a week after surviving the two doses, in what her lawyers describe as a “medically unprecedented” recovery. Former federal death row inmate Rejon Taylor told Newsweek that Pike should be granted clemency, saying: “That to me, is real torture. She was tortured.” [ 2 , 3 ]
Pike, 50, has been on death row for more than 30 years over the murder of her classmate Colleen Slemmer, according to the New York Post. It remains unclear whether she will be put to death again. [ 3 ]
Why it matters
The case has left Tennessee in what a death penalty expert quoted by the New York Post called “uncharted territory,” because the US Supreme Court has not decided since 1947 whether a second execution attempt would violate the constitution. All state executions set to take place this year have been suspended, while the governor has not ruled out Pike being put to death at a later date. Because the documents come from national outlets typed as business, they frame the story mainly through the legal and political standoff over clemency.
Key facts
- Christa Pike survived two doses of the lethal injection drug pentobarbital during an execution attempt at the Riverbend Maximum Security Institution in Nashville, Tennessee. [ 2 ]
- Her lawyers said her arms were burned and blistered, and that had the execution succeeded she would have been the first woman put to death in Tennessee in more than 200 years. [ 2 ]
- Assistant Federal Defender Stephen Ferrell, Pike's lawyer, called on Governor Bill Lee to commute her death sentence to a life sentence. [ 1 , 2 ]
- Governor Bill Lee has so far resisted calls to commute the sentence, saying his responsibility is to uphold the sentences Tennessee juries have handed down. [ 3 ]
- All state executions set to take place this year have been suspended, but Lee has not ruled out Pike being put to death at a later date. [ 3 ]
- Pike, 50, has been on death row for more than 30 years over the murder of her classmate Colleen Slemmer. [ 3 ]
- Former federal death row inmate Rejon Taylor told Newsweek that Pike should be granted clemency after what she endured. [ 2 ]
Confirmed by several sources
Still unclear
- Whether Christa Pike will be put to death again. The New York Post reported it remains unclear and that Lee has not ruled out a later execution; no document states a decision.
- Pike's current medical condition. Newsweek reported she was unconscious and on a ventilator after the failed execution, while the New York Post, published a day later, reported she was conscious and speaking in what her lawyers describe as a “medically unprecedented” recovery.
- Whether a second execution attempt would be constitutional. The documents say the US Supreme Court has not decided the question since 1947 and that no one knows the answers.
- Governor Bill Lee has resisted commutation calls, saying his responsibility is to uphold the sentences Tennessee juries have handed down, an official statement reported by the New York Post. Reported by a single source so far
What local media are saying
Timeline, local time
- CNN reports that Christa Pike's attorney is calling on Tennessee Governor Bill Lee to commute her sentence. [ 1 ]
- Newsweek publishes a phone interview in which former federal death row inmate Rejon Taylor says Pike's failed execution was “torture” and calls for clemency. [ 2 ]
- The New York Post reports that Governor Bill Lee has so far resisted commutation calls and that the state is in “uncharted territory” over whether Pike could be executed again. [ 3 ]