Alive After Two Failed Lethal Injections: Christa Pike’s Story

Convicted murderer Christa Pike remains alive following a controversial execution attempt by the State of Tennessee. On Wednesday, September 30, the state administered two doses of lethal injection, but subsequent events halted the execution.

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Christa Pike Still Breathing After Two Lethal Injection Attempts

The State of Tennessee did not successfully execute Christa Pike at the Riverbend Maximum Security Institution on Wednesday. According to The Tennessean, Pike was still alive after receiving two doses of the lethal injection drug pentobarbital.

The 50-year-old inmate underwent the lethal injection procedure at the Nashville facility, as reported by NBC News. Pentobarbital is chosen for lethal injections due to its potent effects on the central nervous system, which can suppress breathing and induce coma in high doses. The National Library of Medicine indicates that doses between two to ten grams of pentobarbital can be fatal within 15 to 30 minutes.

Pike received a second dose roughly 30 minutes after the initial injection, around 8:00 p.m. Earlier that evening, she was granted a stay of execution pending a review by the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which was evaluating claims of her childhood sexual abuse. Despite this, the Supreme Court did not intervene, and the state proceeded with the execution. Attorneys Randy Spivey and Kelly Gleason released a statement following the botched execution attempt. They previously highlighted that Pike suffers from a vein condition known as thrombocytosis, complicating the execution process.

“Tonight the State of Tennessee once again failed to carry out a lawful execution,” their statement read. “We take no pleasure in being right, but the concerns raised by Ms. Pike proved to be true: difficult vein access, blown veins, degraded pentobarbital, no emergency medical care available when things inevitably go wrong, all under a protocol that remains veiled in secrecy.”

WKRN reporter in Nashville, Tori Gessner, who witnessed the execution attempt, reported that Pike expressed discomfort, stating her arm felt like it would “burst.”

“My arm feels like it’s about to burst open,” Pike told Gessner. “Does this happen like that?”

Witnesses also noted that they could hear Pike breathing and snoring after the lethal pentobarbital was administered. “Nothing about today was normal, typical, at all,” remarked Gessner.

Robin Maher from the Death Penalty Information Center commented to The New York Times:

“This event is the worst we’ve seen and unlike any other botched execution in the modern era.”

Tennessee Department of Corrections Responds to Execution Attempt

The Tennessee Department of Corrections released a statement asserting that all execution protocols were adhered to and have “consistently been effective.”

“The Tennessee Department of Correction followed every step of the State’s lawful, established execution protocol approved by the Attorney General’s Office,” the statement detailed. “The lethal injection chemical in the protocol has consistently been effective, and the protocol does not allow for additional procedures beyond what was carried out this evening. Christa Pike has been transported to an off-site medical facility.”

This incident follows a previous botched execution of Tony Carruthers earlier this year, during which officials struggled to locate a vein for the IV. Notably, Dr. Mark Fowler, who oversaw both executions, was involved in the procedures.

What Led to Christa Pike’s Death Row Conviction?

As stated by the Tennessee Department of Corrections, Pike is the sole woman on death row in the state. She was convicted of first-degree murder for the 1995 killing of Colleen Slemmer, who was her classmate in the Jobs Corps education program in Knoxville, Tennessee.

Pike, along with two teenage accomplices, Tadaryl Shipp and Shadolla Peterson, was involved in a brutal attack on Slemmer at the University of Tennessee Agricultural campus. Reports indicate that they beat, stabbed, and tortured Slemmer, and even carved a pentagram into her forehead and chest with a box cutter, as per ABC4 News. They also took a piece of the 19-year-old’s skull as a macabre souvenir.

Colleen Slemmer’s mother, May Martinez, expressed her outrage over the botched execution to NBC News:

“They went to try to execute her, and she didn’t die…. It was a mess,” she recounted. “They didn’t say anything, and then, all of a sudden, they asked all the victims to leave. And we left…. We didn’t know anything until we got up to the office and saw the commissioner, and he said that it didn’t work…. and she’s on her way to the hospital…. They f*cked up.”

She further emphasized that Pike has never shown remorse for her daughter’s murder.

“Not nothing … about what happened, you know, to Colleen,” Martinez added.

Shipp, who was 17 at the time, is currently serving a life sentence, while Peterson, who acted as the lookout during the murder, only served a year in jail, according to Clarion.com.

Pike recently reflected on her crime, stating:

“I was a mentally ill 18-year-old kid. It took me numerous years to even realize the gravity of what I’d done.”

What Are the Next Steps After This Failed Execution?

Republican Governor Bill Lee announced that the last remaining execution scheduled in Tennessee for 2026 will be “halted” while he orders a “third-party review” to investigate the circumstances surrounding the execution attempt.

“Tennesseans deserve a justice system that is fair, that’s consistent, that is faithfully administered,” he stated. “My responsibility is to uphold the sentences that Tennessee juries have handed down, even when it’s difficult, and that is exactly what we intend to do in the days ahead.”

The governor described the incident as “deeply disturbing.”

Pike was transported to the hospital after the execution attempt, and reports suggest she is in critical condition, according to WKRN. Another attorney representing Pike, Steve Farrell, commented:

“We will never know exactly what physical pain and what mental pain she was going through, but that was her biggest fear as the survivor of sexual abuse, that she would be pinned down, prodded, poked, cut for a prolonged period of time during which time she could be reliving her past trauma,” he said. “For a traumatized person to be put through this, no one should have to do that. That was cruel and unusual punishment.”

Spivey provided a health update on Pike during a news conference on Thursday, October 1, according to the Associated Press. specific details regarding her condition were limited.

“We don’t have a sense of her prognosis or much update on her health at the moment,” Spivey stated. “But we know she is alive right now.”

Before the execution attempt, Pike expressed her feelings:

“I am not afraid to die…. I’m only nervous about the process.”

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