Emergency response delayed after failed execution in Tennessee prison

Emergency responders were delayed reaching a prisoner at Riverbend Prison in Tennessee after a failed execution on September 30. The first 911 call came in at 8:40 p.m. At 9:03 p.m., dispatchers were told the call was not real and no help was needed. Just one minute later, a state official arrived at the prison gate and demanded that responders come inside. Prison staff did not confirm the call was genuine until 9:11 p.m., more than 30 minutes after it was first made. Part of the confusion happened because the caller could not give a verification code. The prisoner was Christa Pike, who was on death row. The incident has raised questions about how prisons communicate with emergency services during critical situations.