Christa Pike, a convicted murderer, is in critical condition in a hospital after Tennessee authorities attempted to execute her by lethal injection but failed. Her lawyer reported that Pike, sentenced to death in 1996 for the murder of Colleen Slemmer, was given two doses of the drug pentobarbital, which did not stop her heartbeat. The execution was scheduled for Wednesday evening local time and had been allowed by the Supreme Court shortly before it occurred.
Tennessee Governor Bill Lee has ordered a third-party review of the incident and has halted all executions in the state for the remainder of the year. The Tennessee Department of Correction stated that its protocol does not allow for additional procedures if an inmate remains alive after a second dose of the drug. However, the protocol does not clearly specify the next steps in such cases.
Witnesses reported that Pike could still be heard snoring after the injections. Maya Foa, head of the legal organization Reprieve, criticized the secrecy surrounding lethal injections, stating that it obscures the violence involved in state executions. Pike was taken to an off-site medical facility, where her legal team indicated she was receiving life-saving measures.
Dr. Joel Zivot from Emory University expressed concerns that the delay in resuscitation could lead to brain injury for Pike. Historically, the US Supreme Court has allowed second attempts at executions, as seen in past cases. In 2024, the court permitted Alabama to proceed with a second execution using a different method after a previous attempt failed.
Pentobarbital, a sedative, is used in lethal injections but has faced scrutiny regarding its potential to cause unnecessary suffering. The Biden administration banned its use in federal executions, but states like Tennessee can still choose their methods. The Tennessee correction department has not addressed claims from Pike's legal team about the quality of the pentobarbital used.
The attempted execution of Pike is not the first in Tennessee to encounter issues; another execution was postponed earlier this year due to difficulties in finding a vein for the injection. According to the Death Penalty Information Center, over a third of executions in the US in 2022 were considered botched or problematic. Pike's accomplice, Tadaryl Shipp, received a life sentence and was spared the death penalty due to his age at the time of the crime. Colleen Slemmer was brutally murdered by Pike and Shipp, with evidence of torture found on her body.