Experts criticize Tennessee's failed execution of Christa Pike
Archived — this story has rotated out of today’s deck. It is kept here in full.
The gist
Tennessee tried to execute Christa Pike on Sep 30, going through about 10 needles over nearly an hour.
She survived two pentobarbital doses, and the state has paused executions amid a review.
Background
Christa Pike, 50, is the only woman on Tennessee's death row, convicted in the 1995 torture and murder of her classmate Colleen Slemmer when she was 18. On Sep 30, 2026, the state tried to execute her by lethal injection; the IV team spent nearly an hour and about 10 needles trying to place the two required IVs, and she survived two doses of the drug pentobarbital. The attempt is described as unprecedented and has renewed scrutiny of how Tennessee carries out death sentences, with Gov. Bill Lee calling off executions in the state for the rest of the year and ordering a comprehensive review.
How it unfolded
- 1995Pike, then 18, tortured and killed classmate Colleen Slemmer with her boyfriend, becoming one of the youngest women sentenced to death.
- Aug 5, 2025Byron Black was executed with pentobarbital, the same single-drug protocol later used on Pike; five minutes in he said "It's hurting so bad" and groaned repeatedly.
- Sep 10, 2025Black's autopsy, released, found pulmonary congestion and edema; before the execution the state's expert had testified he would lose consciousness within 20 seconds.
- Jan 2026Pike's lawyers filed a lawsuit in Davidson County arguing Tennessee's lethal injection process is dangerous and illegal.
- Sep 30, 2026 6:34 p.m.The IV team began placing the two required IVs, going through about 10 needles and several sites on both arms over nearly an hour.
- Sep 30, 2026 7:07 p.m.After another attempt in her left arm, a needle came out severely bent; one team member said "I think it's blown."
- Sep 30, 2026Pike survived two doses of pentobarbital and was rushed unconscious to a Nashville-area hospital; the TDOC maintains it followed standard protocol.
- Oct 7, 2026A judge granted a request for the Tennessee Department of Corrections to preserve all evidence related to the failed execution.
- Oct 10, 2026Pike was discharged from the hospital and returned to prison.
- Oct 15, 2026Spivey's 108-paragraph declaration was filed in Davidson County Chancery Court in the lethal injection protocol challenge.
- Oct 22, 2026Spivey's court document said team members warned some of Pike's veins may have ruptured or "blown" before the lethal drug was injected; a Reuters/Ipsos survey of nearly 1,700 Americans found a third said Tennessee should try again.
- Oct 23, 2026New court filings detailing the failed execution were reported.
Who’s saying what
- Support
- John Yoo, who helped write the Bush administration's legal justifications for torture, told Fox News that lethal injection is "the most humane method" and Tennessee would have to "go back and try again."
- Caution
- Attorney Kit Thomas said predictions about the likelihood of botched executions "have come true — and will continue to come true — without substantial change."
- Party
- Pike's attorneys said she is dealing with "profound psychological trauma" from surviving the attempt and that IV complications likely sent the lethal drug into tissue rather than her bloodstream.
- Official
- The Tennessee Department of Correction said it followed standard protocol, including a second pentobarbital injection if the inmate survives the first.
- Public
- In a Reuters/Ipsos survey of nearly 1,700 Americans, a third said Tennessee should try again, while more than half supported the death penalty generally.
Still unverified
It remains unclear whether Tennessee will try to execute Pike again, and it is not clear exactly when the pentobarbital was administered. Pike's attorneys believe IV complications caused the drug to enter tissue rather than the bloodstream, while the TDOC maintains it followed protocol.