Tennessee Execution Team Used Baby-Sized Needle in Failed Lethal Injection of Christa Pike

Tennessee’s execution team utilized a 24-gauge needle, a size typically reserved for infants, during the failed lethal injection of Christa Pike on 30 September. This detail emerged on Thursday in legal filings that describe a chaotic hour-long struggle to insert an intravenous line. The procedure left Pike alive after she received a 5-gram dose of pentobarbital, a quantity that is generally fatal.

Randy Spivey, Pike’s attorney, submitted a detailed chronology of the events inside the death chamber. He reported that four unidentified members of the IV team used approximately ten needles while attempting to secure a line. They repeatedly poked Pike’s arms and expressed concern that her veins might have ruptured. At 7.05 pm, about thirty minutes into the process, a team member requested a 24-gauge needle and moved it extensively. By 7.07 pm, a team member stated that they believed the vein was blown.

Joel Zivot, a professor of anesthesiology and surgery in Atlanta who provided expert testimony before the execution, stated that there was no way to push a 50cc syringe through such a small catheter without causing damage. Under Tennessee’s protocol, the team was required to inject 50cc of pentobarbital into each arm. Zivot noted that the team used technology, specifically ultrasound, to locate a vein, a technique that requires extensive specialist training. He said the team appeared unfamiliar with the equipment.

Jonathan Groner, an emeritus professor of clinical surgery at Ohio State University, described the incident as astoundingly incompetent. He noted that the label on a pentobarbital vial instructs staff to stop infusion immediately if a patient complains of pain. Spivey’s account records Pike grimacing and stating that her arm was really burning. At 7.23 pm, saline was pushed through the line with difficulty, a sign Groner described as a flashing red light. One minute later, the team concluded the IV was set and began the execution.

Pike’s lawyers had warned the state prior to the attempt that she had exceptionally small and compromised veins. They relied on Zivot’s assessment of the protocol’s serious failings, which included poor documentation, lack of leadership, and the use of undersized catheters. Groner said the timeline showed no one in charge and no visible plan. He argued that the conduct described would be considered medical malpractice in a standard hospital setting.

Pike was sentenced to death in 1995 for the murder of her classmate, Colleen Slemmer. Following the failed execution, she spent several days on a ventilator, and her legal team assumed she had died. She was returned to her prison cell after ten days in a hospital and can now talk and walk. Her long-term medical prospects remain unclear.

Tennessee has paused all executions pending a review of its procedures. The case has prompted a nationwide debate over the use of lethal injection, the primary method of execution in the United States. Groner called the method a medical charade, noting that the goal is death, not torture followed by death. Zivot said the team pressed forward when safety protocols suggested they should have stopped, pointing to a lack of accountability and training in the execution chamber.