Doctor who oversaw Christa Pike’s botched execution breaks silence on what went wrong
Dr. Mark Fowler has recalled what happen on the day of Christa Pike's failed execution.
Dr. Fowler, 69, was asked to oversee Pike's execution in Tennessee; September 30 was supposed to be the day she was being put to death for the 1995 murder of Colleen Slemmer.
His job wasn't to carry out the execution itself, but to be on hand to pronounce Pike dead after the lethal infection had been administered. In more complex cases, however, Dr. Fowler is sometimes called on to place IV lines himself.
Speaking to Intelligencer, Dr. Fowler recalled being told by the warden that Pike wasn't dead.
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He went on: "I thought, 'Well, in human beings there’s a spectrum of responses to medications and we’ll give it a few more minutes.'"
But another half hour passed and Pike still wasn't dead, sparking concerns from Dr. Fowler that the death row inmate would survive but be left with permanent brain damage.
"She’s going to be in a permanent vegetative state with a quarter-million dollars in medical expenses," he had predicted.
Dr. Fowler went on to say that Pike was comatose and the deputy commissioner then halted the execution.
After this, Dr. Fowler's role completely reversed. Instead of being on hand to pronounce Pike dead, it was down to him to save her life.
Per Intelligencer, he ordered an oxygen tank for the 50-year-old inmate and she was rushed off to Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville. Upon arriving at the hospital, she reportedly put on ventilator and treated for severe burns and blistering in her arms.
In went on to become more clear what had gone wrong – that being that the IV hadn't been properly inserted into her veins. According to Dr. Fowler, sometimes thin plastic sheath can clog or dislodge, or the push of medication can cause it to fold.
Whatever happened, the medication ended up being delivered 'to the subcutaneous tissue' of her arms, said Dr. Fowler, instead of her bloodstream.
While the September 30 botched attempt was undeniably a difficult ordeal for all involved, Dr. Fowler thinks Pike should still be executed as a sense of 'justice' for her victim's family.
Going to address the backlash he's faced, the healthcare professional went on: "People will say, 'Why don’t you just walk away from this?' And the answer is, that’s exactly what the advocates against the death penalty want.
"They felt that if they could humiliate me I would step back from it — because I promise you, there ain’t anybody else in Tennessee going to sign up for it now — and the answer is, I cannot be pushed off a course that I find correct. I refuse to compromise."
Defending his character, Dr. Fowler insisted that he's 'not an evil, vicious person'.
"I'm not unscrupulous, I’m not uncaring, and I’m not incompetent," he added.
Topics: Christa Pike, US News, Death Row
Niamh Shackleton