Pike's Death Sentence Expected to Stand After Botched Execution
Christa Pike said she remains in constant pain and struggles to speak. She survived two doses of pentobarbital during Tennessee's Sept. 30 execution attempt.
10 days after the attempt, Pike returned to prison from the hospital.
She was on a ventilator for days and woke on Oct. 6.
About 10 needles were used to set IV lines, a court filing claims.
Pike blamed the failure on what she called incompetence.
Why it matters: Pike would have been the first woman executed in Tennessee in more than 200 years. Her case now tests whether a state can make a second attempt.
The Department of Correction says it followed the approved protocol.
Correction Commissioner Frank Strada is stepping down at the end of October.
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Political Bias
Coverage by lean% of 12 sources
12 sources · 19 articles · 58% Right coverage
Where they split: Coverage divides over emphasis: some outlets center Pike's suffering and the state's handling of the execution, while others foreground the 1995 killing of Colleen Slemmer.
Center coverage, 2 sources: The center treats it as a developing story, centered on Pike's first public words since the attempt.
