TRUE CRIME NEWS'Still Has a Heartbeat': Christa Pike Taken to Hospital After Tennessee Fails to Carry Out Execution
Christa Pike was taken to a medical facility after Tennessee’s execution attempt did not go as planned.
Oct. 1 2026, Published 2:21 a.m. ET
Christa Pike remained alive after Tennessee officials administered two syringes of lethal injection chemicals during an attempted execution on the night of Wednesday, September 30.
Witnesses said Pike "has not lost consciousness and still has a heartbeat," while the curtains to the death chamber "have gone down twice."
At 8:26 p.m. local time, witnesses reported that she was "still alive and snoring," according to a federal court filing from her lawyers.
State officials told the Tennessee Supreme Court that Pike was being taken by ambulance to a hospital for medical care.
Christa Pike’s Execution Did Not Go As Planned
Christa Pike’s attorneys sought to stop the execution as questions arose during the procedure.
Pike’s lawyers later filed an emergency motion asking the courts to stop the process, saying she remained conscious and was experiencing "unnecessary agony."
"Tonight the State of Tennessee once again failed to carry out a lawful execution," Pike's attorneys said in a statement to USA TODAY.
"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," the attorney added.
Journalists who witnessed the attempt heard the 50-year-old snoring and speaking about pain.
She also repeatedly kicked her feet, knocking the sheets. Also, reporters relied on the sounds coming from inside the chamber.
Christa Pike’s execution was halted after she was not pronounced dead, prompting a review of what happened during the attempt.
The Tennessee Supreme Court later found the request to stop the execution moot after the state informed the court that Pike had not been pronounced dead.
"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. Christa Pike has been transported to an off-site medical facility," the department added.
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Bill Lee Orders Review After Attempt
In Christa Pike's case, Bill Lee ordered a review after the attempted execution did not go as planned.
The unusual outcome prompted Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee to order a review of the execution attempt.
"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.
"I have ordered a comprehensive, third-party review to determine exactly what occurred," he added.
The governor also postponed Tennessee’s remaining scheduled execution for this year.
Gary Wayne Sutton had been scheduled to be executed on December 3.
Why Was Christa Pike Sentenced to Death?
Christa Pike was sentenced to death for the 1995 killing of Colleen Slemmer.
Pike was sentenced to death for the 1995 killing of 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer, whom prosecutors said she and two teenage accomplices attacked after luring her to an abandoned steam plant near the University of Tennessee.
She was 18 at the time of the killing and has spent more than three decades on death row.
Her attorneys also pointed to Pike's history of childhood sexual and physical abuse while seeking clemency and asking courts to reconsider her case.
However, her unsuccessful execution attempt also carried historical significance, as a completed execution would have made her the first woman executed by Tennessee in more than 200 years.
