Tennessee execution team struggled with IV lines during Christa Pike failed lethal injection

Lawyer describes difficult IV procedure

Randy Spivey, the prisoner's lawyer, wrote in a document that the team used about 10 needles. They tried several sites on both of Pike's arms before establishing a line. The group even struggled to push saline through the final site they found.

Prisoner survived two drug doses

Pike was hospitalized after surviving two injections of pentobarbital during the attempt. She was sentenced for the 1995 stabbing death of her classmate Colleen Slemmer. Pike was 50 years old at the time of the failed execution.

Experts question medical standards

Medical experts stated that the procedures appeared to fall short of acceptable medical environments. Jonathan Groner, a professor at Ohio State University, called the level of incompetence astounding. He noted that nobody seemed in charge during the process inside the death chamber.