{
  "id": 14151802,
  "title": "Emergency calls from botched Christa Pike execution released to US media",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/13/emergency-calls-from-botched-christa-pike-execution-released-to-us",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-10-13T08:20:07.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "BBC World",
    "slug": "bbc-world",
    "url": "https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/videos/cqpvgrkp0xpyo?at_medium=RSS&at_campaign=rss"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Emergency service records from the failed execution of Christa Pike have been released to US media. The tapes, obtained initially by the Associated Press, reveal confusion among first responders and Tennessee prison staff. It took minutes for officials and responders to determine whether the request for emergency assistance in the execution chamber at Riverbend Prison was genuine.\n\nDispatchers were heard expressing uncertainty as they attempted to ascertain whether it was a genuine situation requiring an ambulance, police intervention, or if it was a prank call, often referred to as \"swatting.\"\n\nChrista Pike's defense attorney, Kelly Gleason, also placed a call pleading for urgent medical intervention, stating that Christa remained alive and needed immediate life-saving care.\n\nChrista Pike, 50, was sentenced to death following the 1995 murder of Colleen Slemmer, committed alongside her then-partner. She endured two injections of the drug pentobarbital on September 30, 2022, and was subsequently transferred to a hospital in a critical condition.\n\nThe new recordings raise questions about the possibility of Christa Pike facing further executions and the methods that could potentially be employed.",
  "summary": "A series of calls, obtained by the Associated Press, reveal emergency services were delayed in reaching Pike.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 9,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "CBS News",
        "title": "Christa Pike back in prison and able to talk after botched execution",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/12/christa-pike-back-in-prison-and-able-to-talk-after-botched-execution",
        "published": "2026-10-12T17:40:09.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "PBS NewsHour",
        "title": "Emergency help for Christa Pike was delayed by confusion after failed execution, 911 calls reveal",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/12/emergency-help-for-christa-pike-was-delayed-by-confusion-after-failed",
        "published": "2026-10-12T21:42:39.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "CBC News",
        "title": "Emergency medical help for Christa Pike was delayed due to confusion, 911 tapes reveal",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/12/emergency-medical-help-for-christa-pike-was-delayed-due-to-confusion",
        "published": "2026-10-12T21:57:19.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "ABC News (US)",
        "title": "911 calls released in Christa Pike's botched execution",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/12/911-calls-released-in-christa-pikes-botched-execution",
        "published": "2026-10-12T22:43:56.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "ABC News AU",
        "title": "Calls to 911 reveal confusion after Christa Pike's botched execution",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/12/calls-to-911-reveal-confusion-after-christa-pikes-botched-execution",
        "published": "2026-10-12T23:30:26.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Le Monde English",
        "title": "911 calls reveal emergency help for Christa Pike was delayed after failed execution",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/12/911-calls-reveal-emergency-help-for-christa-pike-was-delayed-after",
        "published": "2026-10-12T23:43:21.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Sky News",
        "title": "911 recordings reveal confusion after Christa Pike's botched execution",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/13/911-recordings-reveal-confusion-after-christa-pikes-botched-execution",
        "published": "2026-10-13T03:58:00.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Hindustan Times - World News",
        "title": "911 recordings indicate 'false call' confusion delayed emergency help after Christa Pike's failed execution",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/13/911-recordings-indicate-false-call-confusion-delayed-emergency-help",
        "published": "2026-10-13T06:41:14.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}