Tennessee governor Bill Lee has so far resisted calls to commute Christa Pike’s sentence despite repeated pleas from her lawyer – with her botched execution attempt creating questions that have “never needed to be asked.”
Deranged killer Pike, 50, is conscious and speaking in what her lawyers describe as a “medically unprecedented” recovery, a week after surviving two doses of lethal injection, but it remains unclear if she will be put to death again.
“We’re in uncharted territory,” Robin Maher, the executive director of the Death Penalty Information Center told USA Today Tuesday.
“The US Supreme Court has not decided whether a second execution attempt would violate the constitution since 1947,” he said, alluding to the case of Willie Francis – a black teen who faced the electric chair after being convicted by an all-white jury.
“These are questions that have never needed to be asked before and no one knows the answers,” Maher said.
Francis survived the first execution in May 1946 as the electric chair, known as “Gruesome Gertie,” didn’t deliver enough current. He was successfully executed the following year.
Maher suspects a second execution attempt would “likely be unconstitutional.”
“Of all the unknowns we have at the moment, the only thing I’m certain of is that she should not be subject to a second one,” he said. “She has already endured a torturous experience in that execution chamber.”
Meanwhile, outgoing governor Lee has resisted calls to commute the killer’s sentence. She has been on death row for more than 30 years over the heinous murder of her classmate Colleen Slemmer.
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.
He claimed his “responsibility is to uphold the sentences that Tennessee juries have handed down.”
“The people of Tennessee have determined that the death penalty is the appropriate penalty for the most heinous crimes in the state.
“The people of Tennessee make that decision, and my job is to make sure that those sentences are carried out.”
“I don’t think that attempting another execution is going to bring justice,” Pike’s lawyer, Stephen Ferrell, told CNN Sunday, rebuking the governor’s stance.
“The least that could happen now is that we at least take the death penalty off the table and start looking for what the future could be for her,” he told “CBS Mornings.”
Despite Pike regaining consciousness – something her lawyers said was “against all odds” — she suffered “severe damage” to her arms after being administered two doses of pentobarbital.
“Her prognosis remains unclear but, at a minimum, we expect a long recovery,” they said.
Her lawyers also warned it could be a “long time” until she’s able to “participate in the legal process.”
Sen. Marsha Blackburn, (R-Tenn) has called for the return of electrocution in light of the botched execution.
“While there should be a thorough review of what happened and why the process failed, the answer is simple: bring back the electric chair and deliver justice for these victims swiftly,” said Blackburn, who is expected to win November’s election to succeed Lee.
“As your governor I will do just that.”
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