Christa Pike was supposed to become the first woman executed in Tennessee in more than 200 years. Instead, her execution turned into an unprecedented medical emergency after two doses of lethal injection failed to kill her.
Pike, 50, was put to death by lethal injection on Sept. 30 after spending decades on death row for the 1995 torture and murder of 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer, a crime Pike committed when she was 18. She had been scheduled to receive a single dose of pentobarbital, but problems developed during the procedure.
Witnesses said Pike continued breathing, making snoring sounds and responding during the execution. At one point, she complained that her arm was hurting. Her attorneys later said the IV lines had not been properly placed, allowing the highly caustic drug to enter the tissue instead of properly reaching her bloodstream.
After two doses were administered, Pike was still alive. She was eventually taken from the prison to a hospital, where she was initially placed on a ventilator and treated in critical condition. Her attorneys said both arms were severely swollen, burned and blistered.
The failed execution prompted Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee to suspend all remaining executions for 2026 and order an independent review of what happened. The state's correction commissioner also resigned following the incident.
Days later, Pike regained consciousness and began speaking, although her attorneys said she remained critically ill and faced a long recovery. Her legal team is now seeking to preserve evidence from the failed execution and is continuing to push for her death sentence to be commuted to life in prison.
The attempted execution took place in Tennessee.