Full press conference: Media witnesses describe Christa Pike's execution

I'm supposed to speak first.

Hi, I'm Catherine Sweeney. I'm with WPLN.

I'll just give you some top lines. Everybody else can share their notes.

That breaks everything down by time, but when we left at, well, when they told us to leave at 8.53, Krista Pike was still breathing.

They did two separate rounds of pentobarbital, which I've never seen before.

The protocol does say that they should do a second round if the person is still alive after the first push of 500 milligrams of pentamart.

Is it 5 grams?

Anyway, just an overview.

Yeah, she started coughing at 728.

We came in at 727.

Yeah, sorry.

It's been a long day.

Sorry?

came in at 6 27 um yeah i'll just basically all i have to say is they went through two rounds and she was still breathing at the end it was very ragged she lifted her head up and was looking around at one point she said that um she said that there was a spot that was burning and hurting and asked if that was normal um none of none of it was normal i covered all the executions last year

most of the ones this year we haven't seen anything like it. It went really poorly.

My name is Damon Lawrence. I work for the Roan County News. I'm going to share a few things with you all. This started at 7 26. The warden asked Krista Pike if she had any last words. She said I do. He told her to proceed.

She said I just want to say that I'm going to leave this world the way I I'm going to leave this world the way I spent most of my life and that is with love. And she says she loves the people who are angry with her just as much as she loves the people who are on her side. She said I'm at peace and I'm ready to go. Her spiritual advisor was with her.

We thought Damon might want to pick back up but he hasn't so we'll just continue. I'll just talk for a minute or two. My name is John North. I'm an investigative producer at WBIR Television in Knoxville, Tennessee.

I've covered this case actually since it happened in 1995. I was there for Krista's trial as well as to Daryl's trial. The first thing I want to tell you is very obviously we have a lot of questions about what we saw and what we did not see because there were moments when the blinds were down for us and there were moments when the blinds were up for us. It appeared that this did not go like they thought it was supposed to go but we don't know that when we left the building so far as we knew she was probably still alive you just saw the emergency vehicles pull up

we don't know her status and i think it's fair to say and these guys will tell you more we have a lot of questions and the department of correction has a lot of answers that it needs to provide to the public about what happened here why was it that by the time the blinds went down for the second time at 8.05 she was still breathing and her breathing at points was very rhythmic now at times it appeared labored she was snoring at times but she was still breathing we had to listen to all that from 8.05 until we left the building with the blinds down we could not see what was happening

we heard activity but we don't know what happened we're not sure that's appropriate and that's a question that we'd like answered all right i'll let the other folks talk

Hi, I'm Tori Gessner. I work for WKRN. John did a great job of describing everything.

I will say I've witnessed, I believe, five executions in Tennessee. Nothing about today was normal, typical, at all. And the court delay was just the tip of the iceberg. When we got inside, I think it was around 641, we got into the witness chamber. We were waiting there for almost an hour, which is unusual. Normally it's 10, 15 minutes, and then things get underway um we could hear like a little crying and whimpering at times um but when the curtains finally opened yeah she said her last words which you heard she she kept them about

herself she mentioned her haters or people who don't like her um and mentioned that she was looking forward to being free um but yeah the her spiritual advisor was there uh with her touching her he was a man um they were singing i love you so much and talking you know saying i'll go in peace um at one point at 7 34 she said my arm feels like it's about to burst open uh then she smiles really big then she starts talking about that one spot on her arm does this happen like

that the one spot i didn't hear the rest and then her advisor says relax and she says i'm trying um yeah she's talking throughout this then starts breathing moaning snoring um the curtains close at first at 7 46 um and she was clearly still alive she was clearly still breathing and snoring we could audibly hear that the curtains open again uh three minutes later She was snoring very loudly at that point, mouth open snoring, and then the curtains close again at 8.05, and that's when they remained closed.

Media witnesses repeatedly asked, can we open the curtains, because we could still audibly hear her snoring, and we were kind of looked at like, we don't know.

um but yeah and then at one point her snore started to get squeaky we didn't know if it was her making that noise or a machine but that's all I have to add

yes

okay so 6 41 we go back into the witness chamber the curtains open the for the first time at um 7 26

Then, they close for the first time at 7.46 when she was still snoring.

Okay, so she was snoring at 7.46 close.

Yes, because we all looked at each other like she's still alive.

Or at least that's what I was thinking.

7.49, three minutes later, the curtains reopened.

She's snoring very loudly at that point.

And then they close again at 8.05 and they do not reopen.

And we were escorted out at 8.53.

Okay, so you just sat from 8.05 to 8.30 and the curtains closed.

The mic's off? Listening? Was the mic on?

The mic was on and she was, at that point, so when the curtains were open, she was kind of inconsistently going in and out of snores and silence.

When the curtains closed the final time at 8.05, we could consistently hear her snoring and then it kind of developed into a snore squeak and then a snore and even at 853 when the microphone was cut off we could still hear snoring. Yeah.

My name is Will Puckett with WVLT in Knoxville. This is my first execution that I've witnessed and as you heard from my colleagues who are also in the room that this from the get-go seemed very out of sorts. I'm going to go through my notes which are very similar to theirs and try and describe a little bit more of the sounds that we heard both while the microphone was not on and while the microphone was on. I think we all can imagine what we know is heavy snoring and that's the best description we can give you for the noises that were made after she had gotten her two doses of pentobarbital.

The first one it started when they started the second process which has already been kind of outlined for you. It just became rhythmic. John noted that. I want to sort of walk you through what it sounded like when we were walked into the chamber, but before the microphones were turned on. We heard multiple metal on metal. At one point, I heard a groan and what sounded like a cry at one point. I heard what sounded like potential paper being rustling, if you imagine what it sounds like

when you open up a band-aid. That's what I heard on multiple occasions. On top of that, you could hear the velcro fastening what that was eventually is just her being strapped down to the gurney as you could see when it came there was faint talking continued paper rustling that got us to about 715

at that point it was noted by the rest of my colleagues about how abnormally long this process was taking at 715 from there you could again hear the clanging of metal it sounded like they were rolling some sort of pan in and out. At 726 is when we got the mic checked. One minute later, the curtain opened. Krista Gilpike was laying down. Her hair was that curly blondish red hair with a string laying down. All you could see the rest of her right arm was laid out. You can't see

her left arm from our vantage point. Her right arm did have an IV in it, or at least that's where she was getting one dose of the medicine from in her right arm. She made her statement, which has been recited for you already. She and her spiritual advisors started to sing that's been outlined to you. But it was at a point where she looked at the warden and the other person in the room. They recited this song. She looked at our window, recited the song and said the people

behind the curtain in the glass while reciting this song. From there, the spiritual advisor started to pat her head multiple times. They exchanged words. You couldn't really hear what they were saying. As it's been outlined, Pike goes, the vein in my arm feels like it's about to bust. Krista Gilpike continued to blink on and off. She was smiling. She let out a couple laughs during this process. I saw a tear roll down her right eye. And then she said, one spot

is really throbbing. And then she and her spiritual advisor started to talk. This is still within 734 to 737. They say, tell, I couldn't hear the name, but Pike says, tell blank. I love him.

Her spiritual advisor agrees or shakes his head at least. At 737, I recognize that she started to talk less, but she took four separate significant breaths, large enough to where you could see

large enough to where you could see her body rising at points sort of on and off the gurney.

At one point, she lifted her entire head up. This is about 739 and looked at her left arm, which also had an IV in it. I do want to note that almost the entire time she was kicking her feet so often that she was actually knocking the sheet that laid over her off, and one of the TDoc employees had to come and put that back on her.

The singing continued. The heavy breathing continued.

You could start to see the belt across her chest move.

This is at 741.30.

It's important to note at 741.30, why that's so precise, is because that's when the rock was placed for the first time.

We obviously don't know exactly what the rock means, but it signifies often that that's believed to be when the process begins to wait for her death.

Her jaws were moving at 743.28. At 744, she took a deep breath, said something that I couldn't hear.

At 745, she took a very large yawn, like a yawn you can imagine just how large it was.

At 7.46 the curtain dropped for the first time. Three minutes later at 7.49 the curtain picked back up. That's when the snoring from Pike started. When they dropped the curtain they took her spiritual advisor out. At 7.49 they put her spiritual advisor back in the room.

Her lip quivered at one point it sounded like she was almost choking. At 7.51 the her snoring started again. I want to note while all of this is happening, we were hearing an alarm go off.

We later determined it to most likely be the battery warning of TDoc employees' communication devices with inside the prison. The batteries were dying because they had been running for so long. And as we were waiting, their batteries and their microphones were dying. So much so that they were coordinating who could charge what and where and where was a plug-in to charge. At 7.54 she let out a loud grunt, lifted her head up, her mouth opened. The snoring then began again. Just before

7.56 her body lifted off the gurney again. Both her head and her legs sort of like in a v-shape almost. At 8 o'clock the breathing became more faint for a second. She let out a heavy sign another sort. At 80106, the rock was placed for a second time. She's still audibly breathing in that snoring sound pattern. At 802, louder snoring started. At 803, it stopped for a second. The

snoring then returned. She had a noticeable head and neck flex with every sound in that 803 to 805.

Again at 8.05 her body flexed as she gasped for air and then the curtain was abruptly drawn the second time. From there it was the process of hearing her snore in a pretty consistent pattern.

You could hear doors opening and closing. Her lawyers were in and out. Her spiritual advisor was in and out from that point and then at 8.53 the mic was cut off after the warden said will the witnesses please exit the area? Any questions on my timeline?

Hi, I'm Kim Chandler with the Associated Press. I've witnessed lots of executions, but this is my first in Tennessee under this protocol. I'll just say a final statement.

Pike said she was going to leave this world the way I spent most of my life, and that is in love.

She said she had love for the people who were out here hating on her.

She closed her statement with saying, quote, I'm at peace, I'm ready to be free.

Then something about celebrating her freedom.

And then she closed with, this is a happy day.

The execution got underway.

Her spiritual advisor sang with her a song.

Couldn't hear the lyrics, but it repeatedly said, I love you.

He stroked her head.

I would say that Pike appeared notably awake as the execution began.

uh loud exhales a couple of times she looked around the room at one point she looked towards prison officials and asked if it was supposed to feel that way

uh the blinds were closed to the execution execution chamber for the first time at 7 46 p.m uh they opened again at 7 49 p.m uh i have that they put the the rock up as a symbol of 750 50. Her mouth fell open a few times, but she began to loudly snore. She gasped a few times

again and then loudly snoring. Rock came out at 8.01 and then she was still loudly snoring something like a groan here and there. Blinds, the curtain to the execution chamber closed for the final time at around 8 0 6 p.m. and she could be heard loudly snoring clearly very alive in the chamber until media witnesses were told to leave the area at about 8 53 p.m. any questions yeah

I'm Stephen Hale from the Nashville banner I don't want to repeat too much of what has already been said my notes are the exact same as far as time goes and and uh what the rest of my colleagues have said i just want to emphasize a couple things one is how much and for how long krista pike was speaking uh and singing and moving um so the as has already been said the curtain opened for the first time at 7 27 and i don't have a note about her beginning to snore until after 7 45

and then at that point again as has been said she was not speaking anymore but was still snoring quite loudly breathing at some points her mouth was kind of gaping open

so again to repeat that the curtain was closed for the first time while She was still very clearly alive at 7.45, and then several minutes after that, according to my notes here, 7.54, she lifted her head off the table, or off the gurney, I should say, with her mouth open, kind of gasping, but not making the sound of gasping, but with her mouth that wide open.

and then as my colleagues have said at a certain point the the curtain was closed again

and I guess I would just say two things one that the prison staff that were with us the the press communication staff that was with us was very professional and helpful to us but I cannot emphasize enough how much of whatever just happened happened behind a closed curtain

when Krista Pike was still alive.

We could still hear her breathing, but we could not see what was going on.

And as my colleagues have stated,

we asked the people we were in the room with why that was the case and if the curtain could be opened.

And I don't think they were in the same boat as us, to be fair, they didn't seem to know more than we did.

So I appreciated that they were trying, but a lot of this execution or attempted execution, whatever it was happened when we could not see what was going on um and

that was after a long day where none of us knew what was going on as all of you know so i would just i would emphasize that do you have anything to add yeah and then we can take questions like

hi catherine sweeney wpln i came up here earlier and i wasn't super sure about the dose of pinto So I pulled up the protocol. So what they do is they have a set of four syringes, one is saline, and then there's two syringes of 50 milliliters of pentobarbital. So what happens is the IV team determines the IV sites, IV team members insert the catheter, they establish access, then the special operations team leader ensures that the catheters are properly secured.

uh yeah they establish access the physician can insert a central line if they need to

and um then they just they push it and they can do a whole second batch if they need to again that's extremely rare this is an enormous dose of a sedative that should not um ever need to happen twice but it did and then she stayed alive i think one of the issues we have here

is the protocol doesn't talk about what happens if you do this twice and they're still alive.

I don't think that that is something that was planned for.

So there was no rules about when to open the curtain after a second time.

This is pretty unprecedented.

None of it should have happened, and it wasn't planned for.

It made it really hard for the prison system to navigate, and it made it hard for us to understand what was going on.

Of course, we got out here, and then you all saw the ambulance going away with sirens, So we can presume that there was somebody alive in that, but we don't know.

We're not being told.

So that's all I wanted to add.

Thanks.

How many syringes do you believe the work was?

According to the protocol, there should have been two in Series A and then two more in Series B.

Can you tell us what the rock came out twice?

The rock came out twice.

Can you tell us what that point was like when it says three million?

um well i do know that for me the rock came out and generally by that point they're completely comatose looking um in the executions i've covered so far um i was circling she's still talking she's still talking in my notes um and then i heard them say bring the clergy back in which i've never seen before but that meant they're going to try again so we watched that happen and then they closed the curtain for the second time they always close that after the five-minute waiting period after the rock comes out and the

curtain didn't open again we just listened as they said to her snoring and making very loud breathing sounds for almost an hour Yeah,

you, Tori, I believe were both at Tony Carruthers.

I wasn't.

Tori, can you see where you were from?

Okay, so was this, this was not a line access problem, correct?

So this, from all the understandings, was it different from Tony Carruthers?

Because it seems like lines came up right and did not come.

They're all about Tony Carruthers.

Correct, yeah.

So we don't know if it was a line access problem or not, because the way they position the inmates, you're looking at their right side lying down, but just the side of them.

And the IV is on their left arm, so you can't see the IV where it's placed or anything.

And we also, again, don't see the IV being placed.

The curtains are closed at that point.

But

they believe they have submission access.

I mean, yeah, because they started the process, so that's way different than Carruthers.

I was just going to add that that yes

in the Carruthers execution they never opened the curtain

and tonight they did open the curtain and at least from our vantage point which to Tori's point is not perfect but it appeared that they were proceeding with the process and we've mentioned this rock being set out that happened twice so they were administering something to her in some fashion whether that was happening successfully it seems like not but yeah they were they were there were ivs in her to some degree i don't know if that was not successful but you know but it it went further than the caruthers one on that front

yeah definitely yeah yeah yes um if you give me a second i'll try to tell you more specifically but i mean definitely we could hear her it was more than an hour that we were in there and this whole process was going on but in terms of the final time the curtain closed i have uh let's see

i have that you the curtains open for the first time 26 and you could hear at that point

yes

and so i have at 805 the curtain closed 805 or 806 right on that line and from then until they brought us out at 8 53 ish we could hear her loudly snoring and maybe someone has mentioned this but it was rhythmically too so it was it was just a steady snoring breathing sound that whole time which i guess is almost 50 minutes or a little less

So when the curtains opened again for the second time, that was 749.

So by that time, it was clear that she hadn't administered at least some.

Yes, yes, yes.

Definitely, definitely.

Yes.

I just want to add, toward the end, I don't know what you guys thought.

I didn't think she was in distress, if you will, okay, with the breathing.

I didn't, it was kind of forced, it was wheezy.

We've said that.

But it's not like toward the end there that she appeared to be in distress now Was it labored sure was it kind of snoring sure and that's not what we expected We thought it would get longer. There'd be Greater amounts of time between breasts the snoring would be loud There were moments when it was loud and you would think okay Maybe this is the moment when she's gonna slowly stop and that didn't happen

Thanks guys. We've been told no

timing on anything from P-Doc either, for their behalf.

They just

said go on if you want to have something, go ahead.

So we have no timing.

You want free to leave, but you have one hour from now, so 10.45 before we have to pay off.

Thanks.

Thank you.

Thank you.

What happened was that we have to classify the red and the purpose is that I don't control until that I'm a fighter of the ride on the scene, right?

It's like a good first thing.

Yeah, we're all out here now, we're all out here.

But that's the whole stage, like they're rolling today.

Um, we're just holding this in here for a next hour,

oh

the doc staff, I was involved with Billing, but I believe it is in the blue, blue, blue, and this was my first time to finish.

Everybody else got out.

Everybody got out.