Lawyers for Pike filed an emergency motion to the Tennessee supreme court after the second pentobarbital dose was administered asking to halt and stay the execution, saying she was in “unnecessary agony”, and that the state was violating her right to be executed free of cruel and unusual punishment.
In a later statement, they said: “Tonight the State of Tennessee once again failed to carry out a lawful execution.
“We take no pleasure in being right, but the concerns raised by Ms Pike proved to be true: difficult vein access, blown veins, degraded pentobarbital, no emergency medical care available when things inevitably go wrong, all under a protocol that remains veiled in secrecy,” the statement said.
“Christa is being treated at a nearby hospital. We have not been informed as to her condition.”
I edited my comment; looks like a false positive.
That said, I´d rather err on the side of seeing racism than not seeing it. Looks like most people are much more comfortable NOT seeing it, either that or they are extremely informed on the state of Tennessee’s execution program.
Also added this and then deleted the comment, because I think Iḿ actually quite wrong on this point:
[Edit 4: And, actually, what makes this unusual is more that she is a woman. Of the 47 people executed in the US last year, they were ALL men, and, more significantly for this comment 55% white.]
I personally think the part you were the most wrong about was dehumanizing the woman based upon her race, and suggesting “we” should do the same.
[Edit: Thinking about it, I can definitely see how I came across as callous. I’m spiralling into defensiveness and I don’t think that’s helpful. So, apologies to y’all.]