Murderer Christa Pike still alive after botched lethal injections—Tennessee halts all executions

The convicted murderer who was set to be the first woman executed in Tennessee in over 200 years was given two doses of a lethal injection but is still alive after the deadly drugs were administered. The chaos that consumed the incident prompted Tennessee Governor Bill Lee to pause all executions for the rest of the year.  

Christa Pike, 50, was convicted of the murder and torture of her classmate, Colleen Slemmer, which took place in 1995 when Pike was an 18-year-old student at the Job Corps center in Knoxville, Tennessee. Slemmer was tortured for a prolonged period of time, and Pike carved a pentagram into her chest. Slemmer was killed by blows to the head. Pike reportedly showed off a fragment of her skull to others afterwards.  

She was sentenced to death for the murder, but over three decades later, at 50 years old when given the deadly injections, she had "not lost consciousness and still [had] a heartbeat and [was] audibly snoring," according to her attorneys. The lethal drug, pentobarbital, did not do its job, apparently.  

After the drugs were administered and she was still alive, Pike was taken to a nearby hospital for treatment and her condition is unclear. “We have not been informed as to her condition," her attorneys said, per the New York Post.  

Those who witnessed the execution said that Pike was speaking right before the botched execution took place. One hour after the first dose was injected, the team carried out the second injection, but Pike was breathing the whole time. After she was found to be alive after the botched execution, Pike's legal team filed an emergency motion for a stay on her execution and argued that she was in “unnecessary agony” and that she needed to be executed without "cruel and unusual punishment." 

“Tonight the State of Tennessee once again failed to carry out a lawful execution,” the attorneys wrote. "We take no pleasure in being right, but the concerns raised by Ms. Pike proved to be true: difficult vein access, blown veins, degraded pentobarbital, no emergency medical care available when things inevitably go wrong, all under a protocol that remains veiled in secrecy.” 

However, the Tennessee Department of Corrections claimed that all procedures were followed during the botched execution. “The Tennessee Department of Correction followed every step of the State’s lawful, established execution protocol approved by the Attorney General’s Office,” the department said in a statement.  

“The lethal injection chemical in the protocol has consistently been effective, and the protocol does not allow for additional procedures beyond what was carried out this evening. Christa Pike has been transported to an off-site medical facility," a spokesperson added.  

Instructions for executions in the prison system have officials prepare a second injection if the first does not work. However, there is no instruction if the second injection also fails to kill the inmate.  

Following the botched execution, Tennessee Governor Bill Lee ordered a review of the incident. "Carrying out a lawfully imposed sentence is among the State’s most serious responsibilities, and the people of Tennessee expect it to be done in a manner that is not only legal and constitutional, but is effective,” Lee said. “Therefore, the remaining scheduled execution will not be carried out this year.”

Pike had requested that she be killed by an all-female injection team, but NBC reported that one male doctor was also expected to be in the room. Pike had also requested to be killed via firing squad, which likely would not have failed to kill her, however, that method of execution is not authorized in the state.