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Dr. Mark Fowler, the physician who oversaw Tennessee's failed attempt to execute Christa Pike, says he still believes she should be put to death, despite the events that left her fighting for her life.
Fowler, 69, was responsible for pronouncing Pike dead during the September 30 execution attempt. However, after she received two doses of pentobarbital and continued gasping for air, prison officials realised the procedure had not worked.
Speaking to New York Magazine's Intelligencer, Fowler recalled being called into the execution chamber after the warden informed him that Pike was still alive.
"She's not dead," Fowler said the warden told him. Initially, he believed the drugs might simply need more time to take effect. But as Pike's condition failed to improve, he became concerned she could suffer permanent brain damage. He later examined her and diagnosed her as comatose before the execution was stopped.
Fowler was then tasked with arranging emergency medical care. Pike was taken to hospital, where she received treatment before eventually returning to prison.
An investigation later found that the intravenous lines had not been properly placed, allowing the pentobarbital to enter the tissue beneath the skin in her arms instead of flowing directly into her bloodstream. Pike had reportedly complained of pain in her arm during the procedure.
Fowler acknowledged that the people responsible for inserting the IV lines should have remained in the room to monitor the medication's effects. "She complained of pain in her arm," he said. "They should have stopped and reassessed, and they didn't."
He believes Tennessee should change its lethal injection protocol and has expressed a preference for the older three-drug combination involving potassium chloride, which he considers more effective than pentobarbital.
Despite the failed procedure, Fowler has not changed his position on capital punishment. He said he still wants Pike executed, partly because he believes it would give Slemmer's mother, who witnessed the failed attempt, a sense of justice.
"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," he told Intelligencer.
Fowler also defended his involvement in executions, saying he believes his conscience remains clear despite criticism of doctors participating in the process. The American Medical Association prohibits physicians from taking part in executions, including monitoring prisoners and pronouncing them dead.
