The day after the failed execution of Christa Pike, her lawyers described a scene that was harrowing not only for their client but also for witnesses at the Nashville prison.
Ms. Pike survived two doses of a drug meant to kill her on Wednesday night before officials suspended the execution and had her taken to a hospital, her lawyers said at a news conference.
“She is alive right now and receiving lifesaving medical care,” Randy Spivey, one of her lawyers, said.
It was not clear on Thursday what went wrong with the administration of the drugs at Riverbend Maximum Security Institution, or what Ms. Pike’s medical condition was. At the news conference, which was conducted online, her lawyers told reporters that they had not yet seen Ms. Pike in the hospital.
They speculated that during an attempt to deliver a lethal injection to Ms. Pike, an intravenous needle might have infiltrated or punctured a vein. But they also cautioned that they lacked medical expertise.
Mr. Spivey said that it took about an hour to attempt to establish an IV line. He added that he counted seven needles used in her left arm alone, and that “one of which appeared to be bent” when it was removed.
“Last night was not just inefficient,” Mr. Spivey added. “It was cruel, and it was torturous.”
Gov. Bill Lee has paused all remaining executions in Tennessee and ordered an investigation into what happened on Wednesday night. The Tennessee Department of Correction said in a statement that it had “followed every step of the state’s lawful, established execution protocol approved by the attorney general’s office.”
Another lawyer for Christa Pike, Stephen Ferrell, said that it was too soon to say what she might remember of the botched execution. He added that her biggest fear “was not a fear of dying; it was a fear of a prolonged, painful, traumatic death. And that’s what happened, minus the death.”
Mr. Spivey said that before the execution attempt, Ms. Pike had been thinking of the family of Colleen Slemmer, who was 19 when Ms. Pike killed her in January 1995. “What happened to Christa last night was awful,” he said. “But as I was with her throughout the day, one of the things she said, over and over again, was how awful this must be for Ms. Slemmer’s mother.”
The mother, May Martinez, has said that Ms. Slemmer is too often forgotten and that Ms. Pike cannot atone for the killing and should be executed.
Mr. Spivey said he was calling on Mr. Lee to commute Ms. Pike’s sentence and allow her to serve the remainder of her life in prison. A spokeswoman for the governor’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Thursday.
Ms. Pike had been ready to die on the night of the execution, Mr. Spivey said, adding that he and Mr. Ferrell still had many questions about what happened.
“I’m haunted by last night,” he said.
Emily Cochrane contributed reporting.
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