Tennessee’s first woman to be executed in over 200 years is still alive after receiving two doses of a lethal injection — as her attorneys race to file an emergency stay.
Christa Pike, 50, was strapped to a gurney in the Nashville death chamber just before 7:30 p.m. CDT after the US Supreme Court overruled her stay of execution an hour earlier, The Tennessean reported.
Witnesses on site to watch the historic execution take place recalled Pike speaking in full sentences as she was set to be put to death.
“My arm feels like it’s about to bust. One spot is really throbbing,” WKRN reporter Tori Gessner heard Pike say.
Pike was injected with two syringes of the lethal drug, pentobarbital but remained alive — prompting her attorneys to quickly file an emergency stay in the US District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee.
“Ms. Pike has not lost consciousness and still has a heartbeat and is audibly snoring,” the attorneys wrote.
This is a breaking story. Please check back for updates.
