At Christa Pike's Botched Execution, Reporters Witness a 'Horror Show'

Megan DiTrolio is an editor on the Trust team, focusing on efforts to help readers better understand The Times and its journalism.

Shocking news of the botched execution of Christa Pike, the first woman set to be executed in Tennessee in nearly 200 years, rippled across Nashville and the country last month. Pike, who was convicted of the 1995 murder of a classmate, was discharged from a hospital this week after surviving two doses of a lethal drug. While Pike recovers at a women's prison, Gov. Bill Lee of Tennessee has paused capital punishment in the state and ordered an investigation.

Very few people ever witness capital punishment proceedings, and media witnesses often offer the only independent account of what happens inside a death chamber. Catherine Sweeney, a health reporter and newscast host for Nashville's local news and NPR station (WPLN-FM), and Steven Hale, a criminal justice reporter for The Nashville Banner, were inside Riverbend Maximum Security Institution that day, reporting as media witnesses. The New York Times reporter Emily Cochrane, who is based in Nashville and covers the South, was camped outside in the prison's parking lot.

A federal appeals court briefly paused the execution that morning. About nine hours later, when the Supreme Court allowed plans to proceed, Catherine and Steven were already sequestered inside. They then watched as Pike survived receiving two doses of the drug pentobarbital. Amid the chaos, both the reporters inside and outside the prison helped their counterparts fill in the blanks when they couldn't.

In an interview, the journalists shared more of what they saw and heard and the role of human emotion in reporting. These are edited excerpts from the conversation. (For more behind-the-scenes reporting, check out Catherine's first-person story, and an interview with Steven.)

Catherine and Steven, you were two of the seven media witnesses that day. It was your fifth time in the role. What is a media witness?

CATHERINE SWEENEY: Our job is to give as detailed of an account of the proceedings as we can. There's hardly anyone who talks to the public about what happens during executions. Attorneys are allowed in the room while the IVs are being put in; we're not allowed to see that. But other than the attorney and the spiritual adviser, almost nobody is there. Everybody is either related to the victim; related to the person who's being put to death; a prosecutor, someone who works for the prison system or is part of the legal system. We're the only people who aren't aligned with any particular entity. We not only try to document for other media (we do a press conference after) but also our words are also often used in lawsuits, research and policy. They're cited as being the only neutral account of how an execution happens.

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