Doctor overseeing Christa Pike’s execution confirms drugs went into arms instead of veins

The physician who oversaw Tennessee death row inmate Christa Pike’s botched execution confirmed recently that the lethal injection that was meant to go into her blood stream via her veins actually went into her arm instead.Pike, who was convicted of killing former classmate Colleen Slemmer in 1995 when she was just 18 years old, claimed last week that she is in constant pain from the botched execution.
The inmate’s attorneys said Pike suffered from pneumonia and a blood clot, couldn’t swallow, and was unable to move her arms or hands when she woke up after the attempted execution. 
Dr. Mark Fowler, who served as the physician during Pike’s Sept. 30 execution attempt, gave a firsthand account of the incident in an interview with New York Magazine published last week, stating that he initially believed she might be taking longer to respond to the medication.
Fowler said he was called into the execution chamber after 45 minutes and gave the medication more time to work for another 30 minutes before he told the team to give her oxygen and send her to a local hospital.
The doctor said the IV used to administer the pentobarbital had not been properly inserted into Pike’s veins and therefore the IV was “delivering medicine to the subcutaneous tissue” of her arm.
Pike’s attempted execution was not the first incident for Fowler, who was also responsible for overseeing the failed May execution of Tony Carruthers. 
Fowler said he attempted to place an IV near Carruthers’ clavicle after paramedics were unable to establish traditional IV access, but that the procedure ultimately became too painful for the inmate. 
The doctor said that the state’s lethal-injection protocol needs to change, stating that there should be fewer handoffs among execution team members and those responsible for placing IV lines should remain in position to monitor them as the drugs are administered.
“I’m not an evil, vicious person. I’m not unscrupulous. I’m not uncaring, and I’m not incompetent,” Fowler said. “The people who place the IV lines should thereafter be observant about what’s happening with them as the medicine goes in.”
Tennessee Republican Gov. Bill Lee said Thursday that Pike will likely face another attempt to carry out her death sentence, despite pleas from her attorneys to have her sentence commuted to life without parole.
Lee has also halted future execution attempts in light of the botched injections and has ordered a “comprehensive, third-party review to determine exactly what occurred.”
Misty Severi is a news reporter for Just The News. You can follow her on X for more coverage.

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