President Trump called Christa Pike’s botched execution an “interesting situation” but refused to weigh in on next steps, saying that was up to the state of Tennessee.
“That was an interesting situation, but you’re going to have to speak to Tennessee about it. Whether or not they’re going to go forward,” he told reporters who traveled with him to Texas.
He also expressed disbelief that Pike survived the two rounds of lethal injection, becoming the first person in history to survive that death penalty method.
“How does that happen?,” Trump said. “Should be easy to do. It shouldn’t be very difficult.”
Pike, 50, was slated to be the first woman put to death by the state in 200 years after being convicted of brutally bludgeoning a classmate to death and hacking her body with a box cutter in 1995, when they were teens.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
