911 calls highlight confusion after the failed execution of Christa Pike

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Emergency help for Christa Pike was delayed by confusion among first responders and Tennessee prison officials following her failed execution last month, according to 911 dispatch recordings.

The recordings, obtained by The Associated Press through a public records request, show that precious minutes elapsed as officials and responders tried to figure out whether a request for emergency help in the execution chamber was legitimate.

Could Tennessee try to execute Christa Pike again?

The first 911 call came in at 8:40 p.m. on Sept. 30, just over an hour after the attempted lethal injection got underway. It wasn’t until half an hour later that prison officials affirmed the call was legitimate and began letting responders through the prison gates.

Pike, 50, was hospitalized after surviving two doses of pentobarbital as the state tried to execute her for the 1995 stabbing death of classmate Colleen Slemmer. She was 18 when she and her boyfriend tortured and killed Slemmer, becoming one of the youngest women to be sentenced to death.

Pike was on a ventilator for several days and, at one point, her attorneys did not expect her to survive. She regained consciousness last Tuesday and began talking limitedly and…

Original source: https://www.nbcnews.com/health