Christa Pike's emergency call was unverified after botched Tennessee execution
World
After a botched execution attempt on September 30, Christa Pike's emergency call from the Tennessee prison went unanswered for crucial minutes because officials could not confirm it was real.
The distress call came right after two failed lethal injections, but missing verification details led dispatchers to think it was a false alarm.
Official intervenes and Christa Pike survives
It took nearly one-half hour (and some sort of state official stepping in) before Central Control confirmed the call was legitimate.
Only then were responders allowed inside, and emergency crews finally reached Pike.
She survived the ordeal, spent days in the hospital on a ventilator, and has now returned to prison, where she has been serving her sentence for 30 years.