Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee halted executions in the state after a woman convicted of murder survived two doses of lethal injection before she was rushed to hospital for medical care.
The Tennessee Department of Correction on Wednesday gave two doses of a lethal drug to Christa Gail Pike , who was sentenced to death in 1996 for the murder of Colleen Slemmer . Witnesses said Pike, 50 years old, was snoring after she was injected with pentobarbital, her lawyers said in a court filing.
A picture taken on December 4, 2007 shows death row inmate Christa Pike entering a Knox County Criminal Court in Knoxville, Tennessee, US., obtained by Reuters on September 30, 2026. J. Miles Cary/ Knoxville News Sentinel/USA TODAY NETWORK via REUTERS NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVES. MANDATORY CREDIT. TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY
The botched execution caused Pike “unnecessary agony,” violating her right to be executed free of cruel and unusual punishment, the lawyers said. Pike’s attorneys previously warned the court that her small veins made it likely that she would experience unnecessary suffering and terror from lethal injections.
Lee said he had ordered “a comprehensive, third-party review to determine exactly what occurred.”
“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,” said Lee, a Republican.
Lee said the state wouldn’t carry out the remaining scheduled execution for this year.
Pike is the first person to survive after being injected with lethal doses of execution drugs, according to the Death Penalty Information Center. “This failed attempt is the worst we’ve ever seen and unlike any other botched execution in the modern era,” said Robin Maher, the center’s executive director.
Pike, who was 18 when she tortured and killed 19-year-old Slemmer, was transported to an off-site medical facility for lifesaving care, authorities said.
Death row inmate Christa Pike, held at Riverbend Maximum Security Institution (RMSI) in Tennessee and convicted of murdering a schoolmate three decades ago, who is due to be executed by lethal injection on September 30, 2026 is shown in this 2023 Tennessee Department of Correction booking photograph. Tennessee Department of Correction/Handout via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS – THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. QUALITY FROM SOURCE.
“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. “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.”
Pike’s condition after the botched execution was unclear. Her legal team said Thursday she was in critical condition and receiving lifesaving care.
“Last night was not just inefficient,” said Randy Spivey, one of her lawyers. “It was cruel, and it was torturous.”
Spivey called on the governor to commute her sentence.
The governor also suspended lethal injections in 2022 after officials discovered deficiencies in the drug that was meant to execute Oscar Franklin Smith, convicted in a 1989 triple murder. Executions resumed in 2025, and Smith was executed under a new death-sentence protocol.
Two other teens were charged in connection with Slemmer’s 1995 murder. Pike’s accomplices were her then-boyfriend Tadaryl Shipp, who was 17 at the time, and Shadolla Peterson, who was 19. Pike believed Slemmer was interested in her boyfriend.
A picture taken on March 30, 1996 shows Christa Pike being escorted from Knox County Criminal Court in Knoxville, Tennessee, US, after being sentenced to death for the murder of Colleen A. Slemmer, obtained by Reuters on September 30, 2026. Joe Howell/Knoxville News-Sentinel/USA TODAY NETWORK via REUTERS NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVES. MANDATORY CREDIT. THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY
Pike killed Slemmer by cutting her throat and smashing her skull with a piece of asphalt, according to court records. She kept a piece of Slemmer’s skull as a souvenir.
Shipp was convicted and received a life sentence, while Peterson pleaded guilty to being an accessory after the fact and testified against the other two. She was sentenced to probation.
Pike’s lawyers said in court papers she is bipolar and suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder because of physical and sexual abuse during childhood.
The Tennessee Department of Correction didn’t respond to a request for comment Thursday.
The Supreme Court greenlighted the execution Wednesday evening, granting a last-minute appeal from the state’s attorney general after a lower court paused the procedure. The ruling came over the objection of the court’s three liberal justices.
The botched execution comes as death-penalty litigants continue to question whether lethal injection complies with the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment.
Write to Joseph De Avila at joseph.deavila@wsj.com
