Christa Pike Still Alive After Failed Execution Attempt

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Tennessee death row inmate Christa Pike remains alive after the state’s attempt to execute her by lethal injection Wednesday night failed.

Pike, 50, received two doses of the lethal-injection drug at Riverbend Maximum Security Institution, but witnesses and her attorneys reported that she continued breathing afterward. She was eventually taken to an off-site medical facility. Tennessee officials confirmed she had been transported for medical care.

Pike was sentenced to death for the 1995 murder of 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer in Knoxville. She was 18 when the crime occurred. Her execution had been scheduled for Sept. 30, 2026, and was briefly delayed by a court-ordered stay before the U.S. Supreme Court allowed the execution to proceed.

The legal status of Pike’s death sentence following the failed execution attempt remains unclear. Her attorneys have filed an emergency request for court intervention.