By — Maria Ramirez Uribe Maria Ramirez Uribe Leave your feedback Share Copy URL https://www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/what-to-know-about-christa-gail-pikes-case-and-tennessees-previously-botched-executions Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Tumblr Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Christa Gail Pike wasn't Tennessee's first failed execution this year. Here's what to know Nation Updated on Oct 1, 2026 6:07 PM EDT — Published on Oct 1, 2026 5:01 PM EDT A failed execution in Tennessee is raising more questions about the state's capital punishment protocols after Christa Gail Pike survived two doses of a lethal injection Wednesday evening. Pike, who was alive and snoring after officials administered both doses of pentobarbital, was taken to a hospital. Her lawyers said Thursday at a news conference that she is in critical condition and receiving life-saving care, but they do not know her prognosis. "The state of Tennessee has shown us again that they are not capable of carrying out an execution consistent with basic human dignity," said Pike's lawyer Randy Pivey. "Last night was not just inefficient, it was cruel and it was torturous. It was also predictable." Republican Gov. Bill Lee, who said the incident was "deeply disturbing," halted executions for the remainder of the year and ordered a third-party review. Educate your inbox Subscribe to Here’s the Deal, our politics newsletter for analysis you won’t find anywhere else. Enter your email address Subscribe Form error message goes here. Thank you. Please check your inbox to confirm. "Carrying out a lawfully imposed sentence is among the state's most important responsibilities," Lee told reporters Thursday. He said Tennesseans expect death penalty sentences to be "carried out in a manner that is not only legal and constitutional, but effective, and that didn't happen." He described Pike's botched execution as a "tragedy," and said he was "highly disappointed." READ MORE: Tennessee governor halts executions after Christa Gail Pike survives lethal injection attempt In a statement Wednesday, Tennessee's Department of Correction said it "followed every step" of the state's execution protocol. "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," the statement said. Pike's case is unique in more than one way, but it's not the first time an execution has been botched in Tennessee this year. Here's what to know about Pike, Tennessee's execution protocol and other cases of botched executions. What to know about Pike's case, sentencing A jury convicted Pike of first-degree murder for the 1995 killing of 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer. Pike, who was 18 at the time of the murder, was sentenced to death in 1996. She admitted to cutting Slemmer's throat, beating her, throwing asphalt at her head and taking a piece of her skull as a souvenir. A pentagram was also carved on Slemmer's body. In 2001, Pike was convicted separately of attempted first degree murder after she assaulted a fellow prisoner. A picture taken on Dec. 4, 2007 shows death row inmate Christa Pike entering a Knox County Criminal Court in Knoxville, Tennessee, U.S., obtained by Reuters on Sept. 30, 2026. J. Miles Cary/ Knoxville News Sentinel/USA Today Network via Reuters Pike's execution had been scheduled for Wednesday morning. However, an appeals court halted the execution an hour before it was set to begin. READ MORE: Court halts execution of Christa Gail Pike for a Tennessee murder she committed at age 18 Pike's lawyers argued that the state had only recently changed its position on the veracity of her history of mental illness and sexual abuse. According to the defense, during her trial, the state had described Pike as a "'pathological liar' and suggested that she was making up her history of abuse and rape." In Pike's clemency petition, which Lee denied on Monday, her lawyers detailed Pike being raped and physically abused as a toddler, child and teenager. Following the killing, mental health experts and the state's Department of Correction diagnosed Pike with bipolar disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder. The U.S. Supreme Court overturned the pause later on Wednesday, allowing the execution to proceed in the evening. She would have been the first woman to be executed in the state in 200 years. What is Tennessee's protocol for capital punishment? Both Lee and the Department of Correction have asserted that officials followed the state's protocols in Pike's attempted execution. Under Tennessee law, lethal injection is the primary method for carrying out a death sentence. WATCH: What's behind a recent rise in executions in America after years of decline Watch the PBS News Hour segment in the player above. Executions in Tennessee resumed in 2025 after a three-year pause that Lee implemented after an independent review found the corrections department had carried out executions using untested drugs. According to the state's lethal injection protocol, officials intravenously administer two 50 mL syringes of pentobarbital, a barbiturate drug that affects the brain and nervous system, before waiting for five minutes. If the prisoner has not died, the state can administer another set of injections. The protocol does not detail what happens if a person doesn't die following the second dose. According to the Death Penalty Information Center, no prisoner in the modern era has survived the administration of lethal injection drugs. READ MORE: What to know about execution methods in the U.S. after judge blocks Alabama from using nitrogen gas Several prisoners on death row, including Pike, have sued the state over its protocol, which was established by Frank Strada, the corrections department's commissioner. Strada, who Lee appointed in January 2023, had previously served as commissioner in Arizona where he oversaw several botched executions. The lawsuit argues that Tennessee switched from a three-drug protocol to a riskier one-drug protocol. According to the lawsuit, evidence shows that pentobarbital poses "a high risk of a tortuous death." In January 2025, then-Attorney General Merrick Garland rescinded the federal government's use of pentobarbital for executions. What to know about other botched executions in Tennessee In May, Tennessee called off Tony Carruthers' execution after officials were unable to establish an IV line despite attempting to do so for more than an hour. Carruthers' lawyers described him "wincing and groaning" while the officials tried to find a vein. In a lawsuit, Carruthers' lawyers said the doctor who was tasked with establishing the IV hadn't placed one in a patient in over a decade and did not have hospital privileges. Lee paused Carruthers' execution for a year, but did not call for a review or a halt to other executions. Following Carruthers' botched execution, Republican state lawmakers called for Lee to commission an independent review. In July, more than 50 medical professionals sent Lee a letter urging the governor to suspend executions until the corrections department could "demonstrate meaningful improvements in its planning, training, and operations around the entire execution process." They cited Tennessee's requirement that health professionals participate in executions as contributing to the problem, arguing that medical ethics prohibit providers from participating in executions. "This means that the health care professionals who agree to take part in Tennessee's executions are those willing to set aside their professional ethics," the letter said. Despite this, in August, the state executed Anthony Darrell Hines who was convicted of murder in 1985. A free press is a cornerstone of a healthy democracy. Support trusted journalism and civil dialogue. Donate now By — Maria Ramirez Uribe Maria Ramirez Uribe
A failed execution in Tennessee is raising more questions about the state's capital punishment protocols after Christa Gail Pike survived two doses of a lethal injection Wednesday evening. Pike, who was alive and snoring after officials administered both doses of pentobarbital, was taken to a hospital. Her lawyers said Thursday at a news conference that she is in critical condition and receiving life-saving care, but they do not know her prognosis. "The state of Tennessee has shown us again that they are not capable of carrying out an execution consistent with basic human dignity," said Pike's lawyer Randy Pivey. "Last night was not just inefficient, it was cruel and it was torturous. It was also predictable." Republican Gov. Bill Lee, who said the incident was "deeply disturbing," halted executions for the remainder of the year and ordered a third-party review. Educate your inbox Subscribe to Here’s the Deal, our politics newsletter for analysis you won’t find anywhere else. Enter your email address Subscribe Form error message goes here. Thank you. Please check your inbox to confirm. "Carrying out a lawfully imposed sentence is among the state's most important responsibilities," Lee told reporters Thursday. He said Tennesseans expect death penalty sentences to be "carried out in a manner that is not only legal and constitutional, but effective, and that didn't happen." He described Pike's botched execution as a "tragedy," and said he was "highly disappointed." READ MORE: Tennessee governor halts executions after Christa Gail Pike survives lethal injection attempt In a statement Wednesday, Tennessee's Department of Correction said it "followed every step" of the state's execution protocol. "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," the statement said. Pike's case is unique in more than one way, but it's not the first time an execution has been botched in Tennessee this year. Here's what to know about Pike, Tennessee's execution protocol and other cases of botched executions. What to know about Pike's case, sentencing A jury convicted Pike of first-degree murder for the 1995 killing of 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer. Pike, who was 18 at the time of the murder, was sentenced to death in 1996. She admitted to cutting Slemmer's throat, beating her, throwing asphalt at her head and taking a piece of her skull as a souvenir. A pentagram was also carved on Slemmer's body. In 2001, Pike was convicted separately of attempted first degree murder after she assaulted a fellow prisoner. A picture taken on Dec. 4, 2007 shows death row inmate Christa Pike entering a Knox County Criminal Court in Knoxville, Tennessee, U.S., obtained by Reuters on Sept. 30, 2026. J. Miles Cary/ Knoxville News Sentinel/USA Today Network via Reuters Pike's execution had been scheduled for Wednesday morning. However, an appeals court halted the execution an hour before it was set to begin. READ MORE: Court halts execution of Christa Gail Pike for a Tennessee murder she committed at age 18 Pike's lawyers argued that the state had only recently changed its position on the veracity of her history of mental illness and sexual abuse. According to the defense, during her trial, the state had described Pike as a "'pathological liar' and suggested that she was making up her history of abuse and rape." In Pike's clemency petition, which Lee denied on Monday, her lawyers detailed Pike being raped and physically abused as a toddler, child and teenager. Following the killing, mental health experts and the state's Department of Correction diagnosed Pike with bipolar disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder. The U.S. Supreme Court overturned the pause later on Wednesday, allowing the execution to proceed in the evening. She would have been the first woman to be executed in the state in 200 years. What is Tennessee's protocol for capital punishment? Both Lee and the Department of Correction have asserted that officials followed the state's protocols in Pike's attempted execution. Under Tennessee law, lethal injection is the primary method for carrying out a death sentence. WATCH: What's behind a recent rise in executions in America after years of decline Watch the PBS News Hour segment in the player above. Executions in Tennessee resumed in 2025 after a three-year pause that Lee implemented after an independent review found the corrections department had carried out executions using untested drugs. According to the state's lethal injection protocol, officials intravenously administer two 50 mL syringes of pentobarbital, a barbiturate drug that affects the brain and nervous system, before waiting for five minutes. If the prisoner has not died, the state can administer another set of injections. The protocol does not detail what happens if a person doesn't die following the second dose. According to the Death Penalty Information Center, no prisoner in the modern era has survived the administration of lethal injection drugs. READ MORE: What to know about execution methods in the U.S. after judge blocks Alabama from using nitrogen gas Several prisoners on death row, including Pike, have sued the state over its protocol, which was established by Frank Strada, the corrections department's commissioner. Strada, who Lee appointed in January 2023, had previously served as commissioner in Arizona where he oversaw several botched executions. The lawsuit argues that Tennessee switched from a three-drug protocol to a riskier one-drug protocol. According to the lawsuit, evidence shows that pentobarbital poses "a high risk of a tortuous death." In January 2025, then-Attorney General Merrick Garland rescinded the federal government's use of pentobarbital for executions. What to know about other botched executions in Tennessee In May, Tennessee called off Tony Carruthers' execution after officials were unable to establish an IV line despite attempting to do so for more than an hour. Carruthers' lawyers described him "wincing and groaning" while the officials tried to find a vein. In a lawsuit, Carruthers' lawyers said the doctor who was tasked with establishing the IV hadn't placed one in a patient in over a decade and did not have hospital privileges. Lee paused Carruthers' execution for a year, but did not call for a review or a halt to other executions. Following Carruthers' botched execution, Republican state lawmakers called for Lee to commission an independent review. In July, more than 50 medical professionals sent Lee a letter urging the governor to suspend executions until the corrections department could "demonstrate meaningful improvements in its planning, training, and operations around the entire execution process." They cited Tennessee's requirement that health professionals participate in executions as contributing to the problem, arguing that medical ethics prohibit providers from participating in executions. "This means that the health care professionals who agree to take part in Tennessee's executions are those willing to set aside their professional ethics," the letter said. Despite this, in August, the state executed Anthony Darrell Hines who was convicted of murder in 1985. A free press is a cornerstone of a healthy democracy. Support trusted journalism and civil dialogue. Donate now