A failed execution in Tennessee raised questions about the state's capital punishment protocols after Christa Gail Pike survived two doses of a lethal injection on September 30, 2026. Pike was reported to be alive and snoring after officials administered both doses of pentobarbital and was subsequently taken to a hospital. Her lawyers stated that she is in critical condition and receiving life-saving care, but her prognosis remains unknown.
Pike's lawyer, Randy Pivey, criticized the state's execution process, stating, "The state of Tennessee has shown us again that they are not capable of carrying out an execution consistent with basic human dignity. Last night was not just inefficient, it was cruel and it was torturous. It was also predictable."
In response, Republican Governor Bill Lee described the incident as "deeply disturbing," halting executions for the remainder of the year and ordering a third-party review. Lee emphasized the importance of carrying out death penalty sentences in a manner that is legal, constitutional, and effective, stating that this did not occur in Pike's case. He referred to the botched execution as a "tragedy" and expressed his disappointment.
Tennessee's Department of Correction stated that it followed every step of the execution protocol, asserting that the lethal injection chemical has consistently been effective and that the protocol does not allow for additional procedures beyond what was carried out.
Pike, convicted of first-degree murder for the 1995 killing of 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer, had her execution scheduled for the morning of September 30, but an appeals court halted it an hour before it was set to begin. Her lawyers argued that the state had recently changed its position regarding her history of mental illness and sexual abuse, which had been dismissed during her trial. Pike's clemency petition was denied by Lee earlier that week.
The U.S. Supreme Court later overturned the pause, allowing the execution to proceed. Pike would have been the first woman executed in Tennessee in 200 years.
Tennessee law mandates lethal injection as the primary method for carrying out a death sentence. The state's lethal injection protocol involves administering two 50 mL syringes of pentobarbital, followed by a five-minute wait. If the prisoner has not died, another set of injections can be administered. However, the protocol does not specify what occurs if the person does not die after the second dose.
No prisoner in the modern era has survived the administration of lethal injection drugs, according to the Death Penalty Information Center. Several death row inmates, including Pike, have filed lawsuits against the state regarding its execution protocol, which was established by Frank Strada, the corrections department's commissioner. The lawsuit claims that Tennessee switched from a three-drug protocol to a riskier one-drug protocol, with evidence suggesting that pentobarbital poses a high risk of a torturous death.
In January 2025, then-Attorney General Merrick Garland rescinded the federal government's use of pentobarbital for executions. In May, Tennessee canceled Tony Carruthers' execution after officials struggled to establish an IV line for over an hour. Carruthers' lawyers reported that he was "wincing and groaning" during the attempts. Following this incident, Lee paused Carruthers' execution for a year but did not call for a review of other executions.
In July, over 50 medical professionals urged Lee to suspend executions until the corrections department could demonstrate improvements in its execution processes, citing ethical concerns regarding health professionals' participation in executions. Despite these concerns, Tennessee executed Anthony Darrell Hines in August, who was convicted of murder in 1985.