NASHVILLE, United States – Newly released 911 dispatch recordings have revealed confusion and delays among emergency responders and Tennessee prison officials as they sought to provide medical assistance to Christa Pike after her execution by lethal injection went wrong.
The recordings, obtained by The Associated Press through a public records request, show officials struggling to establish whether an emergency call from Riverbend Prison was genuine, even as Pike reportedly remained alive following the attempted execution.
The first 911 call was made at approximately 8.40pm on September 30, more than an hour after the lethal injection process began. However, the caller was unable to provide a code required to verify the request for emergency assistance.
At 9.03pm, a dispatcher said supervisors had been informed that the call was false and that no medical assistance was needed at the prison.
“Per supervisors here at the DEC (Department of Emergency Communications), we have been informed it is a false call. There is no medical assistance needed at Riverbend Prison,” the dispatcher said.
The confusion continued as emergency responders contacted the prison’s Central Control, whose representatives reportedly denied making the initial call.
A recording timestamped at 9.07pm captured a first responder explaining that someone outside the prison gate, claiming to be a state official, was insisting that the emergency was real and demanding that responders be allowed inside.
It was not until approximately 9.11pm that Central Control confirmed the call was legitimate, clearing the way for emergency personnel to enter the facility.
The recordings also reveal continued concern about communication after Pike was taken to hospital. At 9.34pm, a medic asked dispatch to ensure prison officials knew where she was being taken, citing the confusion surrounding the incident.
“Just ’cause there’s been so much other confusion, I want to make sure they are aware of this,” the medic said.
Lawyer Also Called 911 Seeking Urgent Medical Help
Two additional emergency calls were made during the incident, including one at 9.08pm by Pike’s attorney, Kelly Gleason.
During the call, Gleason identified her client by her full name and said she was undergoing a state execution but remained alive and breathing.
“My client, Christa Gail Pike, is undergoing a state execution. She has completed the stages of the protocol and last we knew from the attorney who is present, she is still alive and breathing and needs immediate life-saving care,” Gleason said.
The Nashville Department of Emergency Communications released the recordings with some portions redacted. Police said the audio from the initial 911 call was exempt from public disclosure under state law.
The recordings have raised further questions about how the emergency was communicated and verified, and why responders initially received information suggesting that medical assistance was not required.
Pike Discharged After Surviving Failed Execution
Pike, 50, survived the attempted lethal injection after receiving two doses of a lethal drug used in Tennessee executions. Her lawyers described her recovery in hospital as “medically unprecedented”.
She has since been discharged from hospital and returned to the women’s prison in Nashville, where she had been held for decades.
Pike was convicted of killing her 19-year-old classmate, Colleen Slemmer, in 1995. She had been scheduled to become the first woman executed in Tennessee in more than 200 years.
The incident has also triggered scrutiny within the state’s corrections system. Tennessee Department of Correction Commissioner Frank Strada announced plans to step down this month as an independent review examines what happened, according to Governor Bill Lee.
The Tennessee Department of Correction and Pike’s legal team did not immediately respond to requests for comment from the Associated Press.
The investigation is expected to examine the circumstances surrounding the failed execution, including the administration of the lethal injection and the response to the medical emergency.
