Warning: This article contains details that may be distressing.
Christa Pike, a 50‑year‑old death‑row inmate in Tennessee, is currently unconscious, intubated and on a ventilator after authorities failed to execute her last week. Police and correctional staff say that Pike survived the lethal‑injection attempt, forcing her to be rushed to a Nashville‑area hospital on Thursday night.
The executed inmate received two injection doses of the poison pentobarbital on Wednesday, but the drug never entered her bloodstream in any meaningful way. Hospital staff are now working to clear the drug from Pike’s system and to stabilise her severe, life‑threatening condition.
Pike’s lawyers filed an emergency motion on Friday to preserve "any and all evidence" related to the botched execution. Their filing also alleged that the execution team could not even confirm that the IV lines had been placed correctly – a claim that the pentobarbital was merely draining into the tissue under Pike’s skin.
According to court documents, prison officials tried to start intravenous lines using at least seven needles on Pike. At one point, Pike herself offered guidance on the proper location. One needle was bent in a 90‑degree angle when it was removed. Throughout the procedure, Pike’s attorneys recorded that she could be heard crying, whimpering and breathing loudly.
Governor Bill Lee halted all executions in Tennessee for the year and has ordered an independent review into the failed attempt. The state Department of Corrections defended its method, saying the protocol does not allow for additional procedures beyond what was carried out.
Pike’s case dates back to 1995, when she and her then‑boyfriend, Tadaryl Shipp, beat, tortured and killed 19‑year‑old Colleen Slemmer in Knoxville. She was convicted in 1996 and sentenced to death. Shipp, who was 17 at the time, received a life sentence with the possibility of parole. Despite the severity of her crime, Pike is the only woman currently on Tennessee’s death row.
Medical experts, including anesthesiologist Dr. Joel Zivot, have argued that the pentobarbital may have never reached a lethal concentration because Pike’s thrombocytosis (a blood‑clotting condition) could have blocked the venous entry of the drug. Zivot also raised the possibility that poor storage or manufacturing could have degraded the drug.
For further background on Christa Pike and the legal fight surrounding her case, visit our full coverage.
