Krista Pike hooked up to ventilator after failed execution in US

Krista Pike, after an unsuccessful execution attempt in the US state of Tennessee, remains unconscious in a critical condition and is connected to an artificial ventilation device (ventilator), Reuters reports citing her lawyers.

According to the defense, doctors are trying to remove the drug from Pike's body, two doses of which she was administered during the procedure. Lawyers allege there were problems with the injection and both hands of the convict after the attempted execution were "swollen, burned and covered with blisters." The court filing says the drug allegedly got into tissues under the skin.

The defense also said doctors had warned in advance of Pike's small veins and thrombocytosis, which could complicate the installation of catheters.

“At no point did any member of the execution team realize that the catheters were incorrectly installed or that the veins had burst and that the pentobarbital was in full or in part ingested by Ms. Pike,” the document said.

Lawyers said witnesses heard the woman "crying, whining and breathing loudly throughout the procedure.".

Details of the condition of the convicted defense outlined in an emergency petition to the Chancellor’s court of the 20th judicial district of Tennessee. The lawyers demanded that the state Department of Corrections retain materials related to the failed execution.

Tennessee Governor Bill Lee said the procedure was conducted in accordance with state protocol. After the second death sentence in a year that failed to be carried out, he suspended executions until the end of 2026 and ordered an independent review.

Pike was executed on September 30. Shortly before the procedure, the appeals court suspended the execution, but the US Supreme Court overturned this decision. After two doses of the drug, Pike survived and was taken to hospital. If executed, she would be the first woman to be executed in Tennessee in more than 200 years.