"We gave her ten grams of pentobarbital. The person is not dead yet." US prison staff called 911

Calls made to 911 by prison staff during the attempted execution of Christa Pike in Nashville show that the condemned woman was still alive about an hour after two lethal injections of pentobarbital. She was unconscious and breathing heavily. The calls were reported by US broadcaster ABC, and Slovenian media are relaying them via the STA news agency.

An employee of Riverbend prison told the dispatcher:

"We are carrying out an execution tonight. We gave her ten grams of pentobarbital. The person is not dead yet. This started about an hour ago. We are calling an ambulance." (translated)

The dispatcher asked whether Pike was breathing normally. The employee replied that her breathing was very laboured and slow. Because she was unconscious, he could not say whether she had chest pain.

Her lawyer, Kelly Gleason, also called 911. She warned that her client was still alive and needed immediate medical help.

"She is not awake and she is snoring." (translated)

The dispatcher replied that they would try to send state highway patrol officers to the scene.

Ventilator, burns, memory problems

After the botched execution, Pike was first put on a ventilator. According to her lawyers, she regained consciousness only a little less than a week later. She was then discharged from hospital and taken back to prison on Saturday.

Her lawyers say the pentobarbital caused burns on her hands, and that she also has cognitive problems after regaining consciousness. Her condition has reportedly improved considerably, but some problems remain.

The only woman on death row

Christa Pike is the only woman on death row in Tennessee. She was sentenced to death for the 1995 murder of 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer. According to the Death Penalty Information Center in the US, she is the first known person to survive an attempted execution by lethal injection.

Before the execution, her lawyers warned of the risks linked to the execution drugs and of the possibility of severe pain and suffering.

Investigation and resignation

Lawyers called on Governor Bill Lee to commute her death sentence to life in prison without the possibility of parole. After the failed attempt, Lee temporarily halted the state's planned executions, and Frank Strada, commissioner of the state's department of corrections, announced at the start of October that he would resign.

The governor's office appointed former federal prosecutor Ed Stanton to carry out an independent investigation of the procedure. He will examine whether officials followed the prescribed protocol and whether further changes are needed to keep executions lawful and effective.