Tennessee Halts Executions After Death Row Inmate Survives Hers
BBC Homepage
Accessibility Help
Sign in
Home
News
... (rest of the original content)
Tennessee prison officials attempted to administer two doses of pentobarbital to death row inmate Christa Pike on Wednesday but she survived and was taken to hospital. Her current medical condition is unclear.
Pike, 50, was sentenced to death in 1996 for the murder of Colleen Slemmer. She would have been the first woman to be executed in Tennessee for over 200 years.
"I'm highly disappointed, along with Tennesseans, about what happened last night," Governor Bill Lee said at a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Thursday, referring to the botched execution attempt.
Lee has ordered an independent review "to determine exactly what occurred." The planned execution of Gary Sutton on December 3 will overlap with this pause.
In court filings, Pike's lawyers argued she needed "life-saving measures" after her failed execution.
The Tennessee Department of Correction defended its handling, stating: "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."
This is the second time in 2026 that Tennessee officials have attempted and failed to execute a prisoner. In May, Tony Carruthers' execution was called off after staff couldn't find a vein to administer a lethal drug.