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⠀ Ten needles. Two fatal shots. and execution that didn't work. ⠀.
New court documents have revealed more details about the botched execution of Christa Pike in Tennessee.
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Pike was sentenced to death for the 1995 murder of 19-year-old Colleen Selmer.
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On September 30, prison officials tried to execute her with pentobarbital.
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She survived.
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In a statement released in October, attorney Randy Spivey described watching the execution team struggle for nearly an hour to establish intravenous access.
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According to his report, about 10 needles were used, with the staff expressing concern that at least one vein might rupture.
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Pike was subsequently given two doses of pentobarbital but survived. Eventually emergency crews were called and she was admitted to the hospital.
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Her attorneys' bill is now part of a lawsuit challenging Tennessee's lethal injection procedures.
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Officials in the country claimed that the prescribed protocol had been followed.
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The case raises difficult questions about what happened inside the execution chamber and whether the procedure can be considered reliable.
⠀ Watch: Law & Crime examines the emergency calls made during the failed execution. ⠀.