Christina Marie Riggs (September 2, 1971 – May 2, 2000) was convicted of the November 1997

murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse, especially the unlawful killing of another human with malice aforethought. ("The killing of another person wit ...

s of her two children, Justin Dalton Thomas (age 5) and Shelby Alexis Riggs (age 2). Riggs was a

licensed practical nurse A licensed practical nurse (LPN), in much of the United States and Canada, is a nurse who cares for people who are sick, injured, convalescent, or disabled. In the United States, LPNs work under the direction of physicians, mid-level practitio ...

, and she planned to kill the children with injections of drugs she obtained from her hospital. When she injected her son with

potassium chloride Potassium chloride (KCl, or potassium salt) is a metal halide salt composed of potassium and chlorine. It is odorless and has a white or colorless vitreous crystal appearance. The solid dissolves readily in water, and its solutions have a salt ...

, it caused pain but not death, so she smothered both children to death then attempted

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and s ...

. Defense attorneys mentioned Riggs's depression and post-traumatic stress disorder during her trial, but Riggs did not put up a defense in the penalty phase. She waived her appeals and was executed by

lethal injection Lethal injection is the practice of injecting one or more drugs into a person (typically a barbiturate, paralytic, and potassium solution) for the express purpose of causing rapid death. The main application for this procedure is capital puni ...

less than two years after her convictions. She was the first woman to be executed in

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Osage ...

since 1845.

Early life

Riggs was born Christina Marie Thomas in

Lawton, Oklahoma Lawton is a city in and the county seat of Comanche County, in the U.S. state of Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw language, Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Ce ...

, and she grew up in

Oklahoma City Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, it ranks 20th among United States cities in population, a ...

. She said she was sexually abused as a child, and she began using alcohol, tobacco and marijuana by the age of 14. She became pregnant for the first time at age 16; she gave the child up for adoption. After finishing high school, Riggs became a

and worked in

home health nursing Home health nursing is a nursing specialty in which nurses provide multidimensional home care to patients of all ages. Home health care is a cost efficient way to deliver quality care in the convenience of the client's home. Home health nurses crea ...

and for a

Veterans Administration The United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is a Cabinet-level executive branch department of the federal government charged with providing life-long healthcare services to eligible military veterans at the 170 VA medical centers and ...

hospital. Riggs became pregnant with her son Justin in 1991. The child's father was not involved in their lives, but before Justin was born in June 1992, she began dating Jon Riggs. Christina and Jon Riggs married in 1993, and they had a daughter, Shelby, in December 1994. The couple moved to

Sherwood, Arkansas Sherwood is a city in Pulaski County, Arkansas, Pulaski County, Arkansas, United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population of the city was 32,731. It is part of the Little Rock, Arkansas, Little Rock−North Little ...

, where her mother lived, in 1995, and Christina Riggs got a job there at Baptist Hospital. Christina and Jon Riggs divorced after she said he struck Justin in the stomach.

Murders

Riggs's children were killed in their beds at the family's home in Sherwood. Riggs had planned to give the children a combination of injectable

amitriptyline Amitriptyline, sold under the brand name Elavil among others, is a tricyclic antidepressant primarily used to treat cyclic vomiting syndrome (CVS), major depressive disorder and a variety of pain syndromes from neuropathic pain to fibromyalgi ...

sedative pills, and the injectable pain medication

morphine Morphine is a strong opiate that is found naturally in opium, a dark brown resin in poppies (''Papaver somniferum''). It is mainly used as a analgesic, pain medication, and is also commonly used recreational drug, recreationally, or to make ...

. She obtained the amitriptyline from a local pharmacy, and she stole the morphine and potassium chloride from the hospital where she worked. Riggs injected the potassium chloride into Justin first, and the undiluted medication caused a great deal of burning in his veins but did not kill him."Christina Marie Riggs"
Office of the Clark County Prosecuting Attorney She tried to inject him with morphine to ease his pain, but it did not help, so she smothered him to death. She smothered her daughter Shelby, without injecting her, after seeing the pain that the potassium caused Justin. She laid the children on her bed, covered them with a blanket, and wrote

suicide note A suicide note or death note is a message left behind by a person who dies or intends to die by suicide. A study examining Japanese suicide notes estimated that 25–30% of suicides are accompanied by a note. However, incidence rates may depe ...

s. She then attempted

by taking 28 amitriptyline pills and injecting herself with undiluted potassium chloride. Nineteen hours later, Riggs's mother discovered her unconscious on the floor of her home.

Trial and conviction

At her June 1998 trial, Riggs contended she was not guilty by reason of insanity, due to depression as well as the trauma that came from working as a nurse near the site of the

Oklahoma City bombing The Oklahoma City bombing was a domestic terrorist truck bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States, on April 19, 1995. Perpetrated by two anti-government extremists, Timothy McVeigh and Terry N ...

. Prosecutors said Riggs committed the murders out of hatred for her children. The Pulaski County jury convicted her. During the sentencing phase, Riggs prevented her attorneys from putting on a defense, saying she wanted to be executed. She later convinced the court to allow her to drop her appeals. Riggs was held at the

McPherson Unit McPherson Unit is a prison for women of the Arkansas Department of Correction, located in Newport, Arkansas, off Arkansas Highway 384, east of central Newport. Established in 1998, the prison houses the state's death row for women.Haddigan, ...

, which included the female death row, until her execution. The Arkansas execution chamber is located at the

Cummins Unit The Cummins Unit (formerly known as Cummins State Farm) is an Arkansas Department of Corrections prison in unincorporated Lincoln County, Arkansas, United States, in the Arkansas Delta region. It is located along U.S. Route 65, near Grady, Gou ...

.State Capitol Week in Review
" State of Arkansas. June 13, 2008. Retrieved on August 15, 2010. "Executions are carried out in the Cummins Unit, which is adjacent to Varner."

Execution

On Sunday, April 30, 2000, Riggs was flown from McPherson to Cummins in preparation for her execution. She was executed at 9:28 pm

Central Daylight Time The North American Central Time Zone (CT) is a time zone in parts of Canada, the United States, Mexico, Central America, some Caribbean Islands, and part of the Eastern Pacific Ocean. Central Standard Time (CST) is six hours behind Coordinate ...

on May 2, 2000. Riggs was the fifth woman executed in the United States since the reinstatement of the death penalty in 1976. She was the first woman executed in Arkansas since 1845. Her statement before execution began: "No words can express just how sorry I am for taking the lives of my babies. No way I can make up for or take away the pain I have caused everyone who knew and loved them." Her last words were, "I love you, my babies." Riggs was executed with a potassium chloride injection.

References

External links