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Christa Pike herself advised Tennessee executioners where to look as they went through about 10 needles before her botched injection

Christa Pike herself advised Tennessee executioners where to look as they went through about 10 needles before her botched injection

Staff warned that some of Christa Pike's veins may have 'blown' before the lethal drug went in, and they struggled to push saline through the final IV site. Attorney Randy Spivey set out the details in a court filing on Thursday. Pike, 50, survived two doses of pentobarbital on September 30. She spent several days on a ventilator before returning to prison.

Pike was 18 when she tortured and stabbed classmate Colleen Slemmer to death in 1995.

Tennessee's protocol does not say what happens if a prisoner survives the second dose.

Death-row attorney Kit Thomas said: 'Our predictions about the likelihood of botched executions have come true.'

MoreNY PostChrista Pike’s executioners were given ominous warning before botched lethal injection: court docsAPExecution staff warned IV site might have ‘blown’ during Christa Pike’s execution attemptHuffPostExecution Staff Warned Of IV Problems During Christa Pike's ExecutionDaily RecordChrista Pike execution: '10 needles used' to get injection right as new details emerge
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