Christa Pike in critical condition after surviving two lethal injections, lawyer says

At least seven needles were used to administer the lethal injection doses into Pike’s arm over the course of an hour, said one of her lawyers, who witnessed the failed execution attempt.

5 min readOct 2, 2026 07:44 AM IST First published on: Oct 2, 2026 at 07:07 AM IST

Media witnesses recount the moments before the execution of Christa Pike. (Photo: AP)

Christa Pike, a woman on death row in Tennessee, is in a critical condition in hospital after she survived two doses of the drug used to execute her, her lawyers said on Thursday, according to the Associated Press (AP). Pike, 50, was due to be put to death on Wednesday for a murder she committed at 18. She would have been the first woman executed in the state in more than 200 years.

The attempt failed, and she was taken to hospital by ambulance. Governor Bill Lee has now stopped all further executions this year and ordered an independent review. Her lawyers want her death sentence changed to a lesser one. AP quotes one death penalty expert as calling the failed execution unprecedented.

What happened in the death chamber

Pike’s lawyers say prison staff spent about an hour trying to place an IV line before any drug was given. Her lawyer Randy Spivey told reporters he counted at least seven needles in her left arm alone. AP says Pike tried to help, pointing out where staff might find a vein and asking them to try higher on her shoulder.

Staff then gave a first dose of pentobarbital, the single drug Tennessee uses. A second dose followed about an hour after officials first raised the curtains. Neither dose worked. Witnesses said Pike could be heard snoring behind a closed curtain until the microphone was switched off nearly 30 minutes later. She spent more than 90 minutes in the chamber, Spivey said, and he called the process cruel and torturous.

Her lawyers say it is not clear whether she suffered brain damage from a lack of oxygen. Another lawyer, Steve Ferrell, said Pike has a lifelong blood disorder that makes it hard to find her veins. He said the drug may have gone into her arm and not her bloodstream, though AP notes it is still unclear what went wrong.

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May Martinez, the mother of the murdered woman, went to Nashville to watch. She told AP, “I didn’t get justice for my daughter.” She said Pike was awake, moving her head and feet, and trying to sit up.

Governor orders review, lawyers seek mercy

Governor Lee, a Republican, called what happened deeply disturbing. He put Pike’s execution and one other planned for this year on hold with no new date. The BBC reports that the second one was due on 3 December, for Gary Sutton. Lee has not said who will carry out the review. He said it appeared prison staff had followed the rules.

The BBC also reports that the Tennessee Department of Correction said it followed every step of the approved protocol. Republican senator Marsha Blackburn, who is running for governor, said the state should “bring back the electric chair”, while her Democratic rival Jerri Green called for a stop to all executions.

Pike’s lawyers now want the governor to commute her sentence. A request of this kind was turned down before. Ferrell said the lawyers are also looking at other legal steps, but want Pike to recover and have a say first.

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The day before, an appeals court had stopped the execution an hour before it was due to start. The US Supreme Court overturned that stay a few hours later, AP reports.

Why this has shocked experts

Robin Maher, head of the Death Penalty Information Center, told AP that Pike’s case is unlike any other, as she lived long enough to be moved to hospital. Seven other prisoners have survived medical problems after staff could not find a vein, she said, but no one has lived on after receiving the execution drugs.

It was the second failed execution in Tennessee this year. In the other case, staff could not find a suitable vein, so no drug was given. In 2024, the state moved from a three-drug method to pentobarbital alone. This came about two years after it halted the execution of Oscar Smith and admitted it had not made sure its drugs were tested properly.

Pike would have been the 30th person executed in the US this year. AP says executions nearly doubled last year, led by a record rise in Florida.

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Pike and her then boyfriend were convicted of killing Colleen Slemmer, a 19-year-old classmate, in 1995. The case stirred fears of Satan worship because a pentagram was carved on the victim’s body. Pike did not dispute that she helped to kill Slemmer. Her supporters say her mental illness and claims of severe sexual abuse should be taken into account. She was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder after the killing.

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