Christa Pike’s Failed Execution: Can Tennessee Try Again?

On September 30, 2026, Tennessee tried to execute Christa Pike.

The state administered two doses of pentobarbital, the drug used in its lethal injection protocol. Witnesses watched as Pike continued breathing. She was still alive when the procedure ended.

Instead of leaving the execution chamber in a body bag, she left in an ambulance.

And somehow, this was Tennessee’s second failed execution in less than five months.

Now Pike is back in prison. She’s recovering from the attempt, but her death sentence still stands. Governor Bill Lee has paused executions, an independent investigation is underway, and her attorneys are fighting to prevent Tennessee from trying again.

Which brings us to the question at the center of our two-part This Feels Criminal series:

If the government tries to execute someone and fails, does it get another chance?

We knew this story would involve the death penalty and the Eighth Amendment. What we didn’t expect was how many warnings Tennessee had received, how much confusion followed the failed procedure, or how complicated the legal answer would become.

And before we get into any of that, we need to talk about Colleen Slemmer.

Why Was Christa Pike on Death Row?

Christa Pike was sentenced to death for the January 1995 murder of 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer in Knoxville, Tennessee.

At the time, Pike was 18 years old and attending Job Corps. She believed Colleen was interested in her boyfriend, Tadaryl Shipp.

On January 12, Pike, Shipp and another student, Shadolla Peterson, accompanied Colleen to a secluded area near the University of Tennessee’s agricultural campus.

What happened there was horrific.

According to the Tennessee Supreme Court’s account of the trial evidence, Colleen was beaten, cut with weapons and subjected to an extended attack. She tried to escape and begged for her life.

Pike ultimately killed her by striking her head with a piece of asphalt.

Pike was convicted of premeditated first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder. The jury sentenced her to death after finding that the murder involved torture or serious physical abuse beyond what was necessary to cause death.

Shipp, who was 17, received a life sentence. Peterson testified for the prosecution and received probation.

We’ve covered Colleen’s murder in detail before, in episode 355 from January 2025. If you want the full background, that’s the episode to revisit.

But for this discussion, here’s what matters.

Colleen was a 19-year-old woman whose life was taken in an incredibly brutal way. Her family has lived with that loss for more than three decades.

Her mother, May Martinez, traveled to Tennessee in September expecting to witness Pike’s execution.

Instead, she watched the state fail to carry out the sentence.

We can recognize the horror of Colleen’s murder and her family’s desire for justice while still asking whether Tennessee followed the Constitution.

Because constitutional protections don’t disappear when someone commits a terrible crime.

What Happened During Christa Pike’s Failed Execution?

Tennessee attempted to execute Christa Pike by lethal injection on September 30, 2026, at Riverbend Maximum Security Institution in Nashville.

The state used a single-drug protocol involving pentobarbital.

The execution did not go as planned.

According to witness accounts, the viewing curtains opened and closed several times while Pike continued breathing. The procedure stretched across nearly 90 minutes.

Tennessee administered two doses of pentobarbital.

Neither caused her death.

Pike’s attorneys say the IV lines were improperly placed and that the drug entered the tissue surrounding her veins instead of circulating through her bloodstream.

They later reported swelling, burns and blistering around her arms.

That explanation is consistent with the complications her attorneys described. However, the precise cause of the failed execution has not been publicly established through an independent investigation.

Tennessee’s Department of Correction maintained that its team followed the state’s established execution protocol.

And that’s part of what makes this so troubling.

If everyone followed the procedure, and the procedure still produced this outcome, what does that say about the procedure itself?

Did Christa Pike receive the lethal injection drugs?

Yes. Tennessee administered two doses of pentobarbital during the September 30 execution attempt.

That makes her case particularly unusual.

According to the Death Penalty Information Center, Pike is the first known person to survive an execution attempt after lethal injection drugs were actually administered.

Other prisoners have survived failed executions because officials couldn’t establish IV access or had to stop before administering the drugs.

Pike’s case went further.

The state administered the drugs, and she survived.

That distinction could become important in the legal arguments over whether Tennessee may attempt another execution.

Christa Pike’s Attorneys Warned Tennessee Before the Execution

One of the most frustrating parts of this case is that the concerns didn’t begin after September 30.

Pike’s attorneys had raised specific medical and procedural warnings months earlier.

In January 2026, they challenged Tennessee’s execution protocol, arguing that Pike’s medical history created an unusually high risk of complications.

They pointed to her small, compromised veins, difficult IV access and a blood disorder.

They also questioned what would happen if the lethal injection failed.

Her legal team warned that the execution drugs could enter surrounding tissue instead of being delivered properly into her bloodstream.

After the execution failed, her attorneys argued that the complications they had predicted were remarkably similar to what occurred.

Again, the final medical explanation remains under investigation.

But the advance warnings are documented.

And that’s an important difference.

There’s a real distinction between an unexpected medical complication and a foreseeable risk that officials were specifically asked to address.

Pike’s attorneys even requested alternative execution methods, including hanging or a firing squad.

Tennessee law did not authorize those methods, so the requests were denied.

At the time, the state was legally limited to lethal injection and the electric chair.

The question now is whether Tennessee adequately considered the risks before proceeding.

What Happened to Christa Pike After the Failed Execution?

Pike was transported to a hospital after the September 30 attempt.

For several days, she remained unconscious and required a ventilator.

Her attorneys reported that they had been told she might be brain-dead and that life support could be withdrawn.

Then, on October 6, she regained consciousness.

By October 8, her legal team reported that she was speaking, eating and walking with assistance.

She was discharged from the hospital around October 10 and returned to the Debra K. Johnson Rehabilitation Center in Nashville.

Her attorneys have reported continued physical and cognitive concerns.

The full extent of her injuries, including whether any effects will be permanent, has not been established.

Why did a judge order Tennessee to preserve evidence?

On October 7, Davidson County Chancellor I’Ashea Myles ordered Tennessee to preserve evidence related to Pike’s failed execution.

That included relevant IV equipment, drugs, recordings, medical records and communications.

The purpose was to ensure that evidence would remain available while legal challenges and investigations continued.

The order did not determine why the execution failed.

It also did not decide whether Tennessee could legally try again.

But it was an important step toward finding out what actually happened inside the execution chamber.

The 911 Calls After Christa Pike’s Execution Raise More Questions

You would think that if a state planned to execute someone, it would also have a clear plan for what happens if the person survives.

The emergency calls following Pike’s execution suggest that the response was far from straightforward.

According to reporting on the 911 recordings, someone inside Riverbend prison called for emergency assistance at approximately 8:40 p.m.

The caller couldn’t provide the verification code dispatchers used to authenticate emergency calls from the prison.

Confusion followed.

At one point, dispatchers were told the call was false and that emergency assistance wasn’t needed.

Pike’s attorney Kelly Gleason also called 911, explaining that her client had received execution drugs and was still alive.

Prison officials later confirmed the emergency, and responders were allowed inside.

Metro Nashville’s emergency communications agency disputes that it delayed the response. It has said crews were notified and staged while the call was verified.

Still, the recordings raise serious questions about communication and emergency planning.

Who was responsible for declaring the execution had failed?

Who had authority to request lifesaving medical care?

And why was there uncertainty about whether an emergency inside an execution chamber was real?

Those are questions the independent investigation should address.

Tony Carruthers: Tennessee’s Other Failed Execution in 2026

Christa Pike wasn’t the first Tennessee prisoner to survive an execution attempt that year.

On May 21, 2026, Tennessee attempted to execute Tony Carruthers, who had been convicted in a 1994 triple murder in Memphis.

Execution staff spent more than an hour trying to establish the required IV access.

They secured a primary line but couldn’t establish the backup line required by the protocol.

The team then attempted a central IV line, which involves placing a catheter into a larger vein.

That attempt also failed.

Carruthers’ attorney described watching staff repeatedly puncture him while trying to find usable veins.

Governor Bill Lee eventually granted Carruthers a one-year reprieve.

A reprieve postpones an execution. It does not cancel the death sentence.

So within five months, Tennessee had two execution attempts that failed.

And there was another connection between them.

The Doctor Involved in Both Failed Tennessee Executions

Dr. Mark Fowler was involved in the attempted executions of both Tony Carruthers and Christa Pike.

His qualifications have become part of the controversy.

In a deposition related to Tennessee’s lethal injection protocol, Fowler acknowledged that he had not placed a central IV line since approximately 2013.

He also testified that he did not have current hospital privileges.

During the Carruthers attempt, Fowler tried unsuccessfully to establish a central line.

He remained involved in Pike’s execution months later.

That doesn’t prove Fowler personally caused either failure.

It does raise questions about the qualifications Tennessee required of execution personnel and what happened after the first failed attempt.

Fowler has maintained that his intention was to minimize suffering.

His involvement is also the subject of scrutiny, including an ethics complaint filed in connection with the Carruthers execution.

The complaint is an allegation, not a disciplinary finding.

But the larger question remains.

What qualifications should someone need before the state allows them to perform procedures that can determine whether an execution succeeds or becomes a medical emergency?

Frank Strada and Tennessee’s Execution Problems

At the time of Pike’s execution, Tennessee’s Commissioner of Correction was Frank Strada.

Before coming to Tennessee in 2023, Strada had held senior corrections positions, including in Arizona.

In 2022, Arizona carried out three executions under his oversight. Each involved reported difficulties establishing IV access.

Arizona later commissioned an independent review of its execution procedures.

In Tennessee, Strada oversaw a revised lethal injection protocol.

Then came the failed Carruthers execution in May 2026.

And Pike’s failed execution in September.

Reporting has also raised questions about changes to Tennessee’s execution preparation requirements, including the removal of a previous requirement for IV-team members to practice inserting lines during rehearsals.

That change has not been established as the cause of either failed execution.

Three days after Pike’s attempt, Governor Lee accepted Strada’s resignation.

Lee also paused executions for the remainder of 2026 and ordered an independent review.

Again, overseeing a department does not automatically establish personal responsibility for every failure.

But when similar problems occur repeatedly, the state has an obligation to examine its training, oversight and decision-making.

And that brings us to the bigger legal question.

What Does the Eighth Amendment Say About Botched Executions?

The Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution prohibits cruel and unusual punishment.

It doesn’t provide a detailed definition of those terms.

Instead, courts have developed legal standards through decades of decisions.

The Supreme Court has not ruled that the death penalty is unconstitutional in every circumstance.

It has, however, placed restrictions on how states may carry out executions.

Several cases are particularly important to understanding Pike’s situation.

Baze v. Rees: Is one failed execution enough?

In Baze v. Rees (2008), the Supreme Court considered a challenge to Kentucky’s lethal injection procedure.

The controlling opinion explained that an isolated accident does not automatically establish an Eighth Amendment violation.

A prisoner challenging an execution method generally must show a substantial risk of serious harm.

That distinction matters because Tennessee has now experienced two failed executions within five months.

Whether those failures demonstrate a broader constitutional problem remains an unresolved legal question.

Glossip v. Gross: Why must prisoners identify an alternative?

In Glossip v. Gross (2015), the Supreme Court required prisoners challenging an execution method to identify a known and available alternative that would significantly reduce the risk of severe pain.

That requirement can create a difficult situation.

A prisoner may argue that the state’s chosen method is dangerous but still be required to identify another feasible way for the state to carry out the death sentence.

Bucklew v. Precythe: What if lethal injection is dangerous for one person?

In Bucklew v. Precythe (2019), the Supreme Court addressed a method-of-execution challenge involving a prisoner’s individual medical condition.

The Court maintained the requirement that a proposed alternative be feasible and readily implemented.

That is especially relevant to Pike.

Her attorneys argued before September 30 that her particular medical circumstances made Tennessee’s lethal injection protocol unusually dangerous.

They proposed alternative methods.

But Tennessee law didn’t authorize those methods at the time.

That legal conflict is one reason the case is more complicated than simply asking whether lethal injection is generally constitutional.

Can Tennessee Execute Christa Pike Again?

Possibly. Existing Supreme Court precedent permits a second execution attempt in some circumstances, but no court has yet determined whether Tennessee may try again under Pike’s particular circumstances.

Her death sentence remains in effect.

Surviving the execution did not automatically cancel it.

However, her attorneys may argue that another attempt would expose her to an unconstitutional risk of severe pain or suffering, especially given the drugs already administered and her reported injuries.

To understand why this remains unsettled, we need to look at other people who survived execution attempts.

Four People Who Survived Execution Attempts Before Christa Pike

Willie Francis: The teenager who survived the electric chair

In 1946, Louisiana attempted to execute Willie Francis, a 17-year-old Black teenager convicted of murder.

The state’s electric chair malfunctioned.

Francis survived.

His case reached the United States Supreme Court in Louisiana ex rel. Francis v. Resweber (1947).

In a divided decision, the Court allowed Louisiana to try again.

The justices who permitted the second attempt treated the first failure as an accident rather than an unconstitutional additional punishment.

The dissenting justices raised concerns about subjecting someone to repeated execution attempts.

Louisiana executed Francis in 1947.

His case remains the central Supreme Court precedent concerning a second execution attempt.

Romell Broom: Ohio’s two-hour failed lethal injection

Ohio attempted to execute Romell Broom in September 2009.

For approximately two hours, execution staff repeatedly tried to establish IV access.

They never administered the execution drugs.

Ohio eventually stopped the procedure.

Broom challenged the state’s authority to try again.

The Ohio Supreme Court ruled in 2016 that another attempt could proceed.

A federal appeals court later upheld that result under the deferential standard governing federal review of state-court decisions.

Broom died in 2020 before Ohio attempted another execution.

His case matters because the absence of administered drugs was part of the legal discussion.

Pike’s case involves a different factual situation.

Doyle Hamm: Alabama agreed not to try again

In February 2018, Alabama attempted to execute Doyle Hamm.

Hamm had serious medical conditions, and his attorneys had warned that establishing IV access would be difficult.

The execution team spent hours attempting to find suitable veins.

The procedure was eventually stopped.

Alabama later entered into a settlement agreeing not to seek another execution date.

Hamm remained under a death sentence and died of cancer in 2021.

His case shows that a failed execution does not always lead to another attempt.

Sometimes the state decides not to pursue one.

Kenneth Smith: Alabama tried again using nitrogen gas

Kenneth Smith survived a failed lethal injection attempt in Alabama in November 2022.

Execution staff were unable to complete the required IV access before the death warrant expired.

But Alabama did try again.

On January 25, 2024, the state executed Smith using nitrogen hypoxia.

It was the first execution in the United States using that method.

Witnesses described shaking and convulsions during the procedure.

Alabama officials defended the method, while Smith’s spiritual adviser described witnessing a prolonged struggle.

Smith’s case demonstrates that a second execution attempt can happen after an earlier failure.

It does not establish that every second attempt is constitutional under every set of circumstances.

Why Christa Pike’s Case Could Be Different

There are three major legal questions that distinguish Pike’s situation.

1. Tennessee already administered the execution drugs

Pike received two doses of pentobarbital.

In the Broom, Hamm and Smith attempts, officials stopped before administering lethal injection drugs.

That factual difference may become important.

However, it doesn’t automatically establish that a second attempt would violate the Constitution’s protection against double jeopardy.

Double jeopardy generally prevents repeated prosecutions or punishments for the same offense. Courts have not established that an unsuccessful attempt to carry out an existing death sentence necessarily constitutes a separate punishment.

The stronger argument may involve the Eighth Amendment and the risk of additional suffering.

2. Pike’s reported injuries may affect the constitutional analysis

Pike’s attorneys have described physical injuries following the attempt.

They have requested additional time to evaluate her physical, mental and psychological condition.

Those findings could become important if Tennessee seeks another execution date.

A court may need to consider whether another attempt would create an unconstitutional risk of serious harm.

That question hasn’t been decided.

3. Her competency to be executed could become an issue

In Madison v. Alabama (2019), the Supreme Court addressed whether a person with serious cognitive impairment could be executed.

The relevant legal question involves whether the person can rationally understand why the state intends to execute them.

Pike’s attorneys have reported confusion and cognitive concerns following her hospitalization.

That does not establish that she is incompetent to be executed.

It means that if lasting impairment exists, medical evidence could become relevant to a future legal challenge.

For now, these are possible arguments, not court findings.

Why Do Doctors Participate in Executions?

This is another uncomfortable part of the death penalty system.

Lethal injection requires procedures that resemble medical care.

Someone must establish IV access, administer drugs and monitor the process.

But the American Medical Association’s Code of Medical Ethics says physicians should not participate in executions.

The AMA does not take a position on whether the death penalty should exist.

Its position concerns the role of physicians.

That creates a tension.

The state needs people with medical skills to carry out lethal injection, while the profession’s ethical standards discourage doctors from participating.

The AMA’s ethics code is not itself a criminal law.

And state medical boards do not necessarily have the authority to discipline physicians solely for participating in lawful executions.

That raises questions about how execution personnel are trained, evaluated and held accountable.

Especially when an execution goes wrong.

Would a Firing Squad or Electric Chair Solve Tennessee’s Problem?

After the failed executions, Tennessee lawmakers began discussing alternatives to lethal injection.

Some have suggested returning to the electric chair.

Others have raised the possibility of authorizing firing squads or other methods.

Tennessee currently uses lethal injection as its primary execution method, with the electric chair available under certain legal circumstances.

Hanging and firing squads are not currently authorized.

Supporters of alternative methods argue that lethal injection has become unreliable and difficult to administer.

Critics question whether replacing one execution method with another addresses the underlying concerns about suffering and accountability.

Alabama’s use of nitrogen hypoxia in Kenneth Smith’s execution illustrates that changing methods doesn’t necessarily end the controversy.

For us, the bigger question is who evaluates these methods before they’re used.

If Tennessee changes the execution method, what safeguards will be required?

Who will review the qualifications of the people involved?

And what happens when something goes wrong?

Changing the method doesn’t eliminate the need for accountability.

What Happens Next in Christa Pike’s Case?

As of October 22, 2026, Pike remains under a death sentence, but no new execution date has been announced.

Governor Bill Lee has paused executions through the end of the year.

Former U.S. Attorney Ed Stanton is leading an independent review of Tennessee’s execution procedures.

Pike’s attorneys are seeking additional time to evaluate her injuries and continue their legal challenges.

They are also asking the governor to commute her death sentence to life without parole.

A commutation would change the sentence.

A reprieve would only delay it.

The October 7 evidence-preservation order ensures that relevant materials must be retained while the investigation and litigation continue.

A further hearing is scheduled for October 23, so the procedural status may change.

And even if a court eventually determines that another execution would be constitutional, Tennessee would still have to decide whether to pursue one.

Those are separate questions.

What About Colleen Slemmer’s Family?

It’s important that Colleen doesn’t disappear from this story.

She was 19 years old when she was murdered.

Her mother, May Martinez, has waited more than 30 years for the sentence imposed on Pike to be carried out.

Martinez traveled from Florida to witness the September execution.

Instead, she watched it fail.

She later spoke about her disappointment and the lack of resolution.

And whatever someone believes about capital punishment, that experience deserves to be acknowledged.

A failed execution can create additional suffering and uncertainty for a victim’s family.

It also raises questions about the state’s responsibility to the people who have waited decades for a legal process to reach its conclusion.

This story has more than one person living with the consequences.

The Question We Can’t Stop Thinking About

When we started researching Christa Pike’s failed execution, we thought the central question would be whether Tennessee could legally try again.

And that’s still a huge part of the story.

But the more we learned, the more we kept coming back to something else.

What exactly counts as the punishment?

Is the punishment only the death itself?

Or does the experience of being strapped to a gurney, injected with lethal drugs, hospitalized and left to recover from a failed execution become part of that punishment?

The Supreme Court has addressed failed executions before.

But it has never decided a case with Pike’s exact circumstances.

And we don’t know how the courts will ultimately resolve the legal questions her attorneys are raising.

We also know that Colleen Slemmer’s murder was horrific.

We know her family has endured decades of grief.

And we know that Tennessee was carrying out a sentence imposed after a criminal conviction.

All of those things matter.

But here’s where we’ve landed after researching this two-part series.

We shouldn’t have to approve of someone’s actions to care whether the government follows the Constitution when punishing them.

The Eighth Amendment doesn’t contain an exception for people whose crimes make us angry.

If constitutional protections only apply to people we sympathize with, they stop functioning as protections.

That doesn’t answer whether Tennessee should execute Christa Pike again.

It does explain why the answer deserves careful scrutiny, regardless of how anyone feels about her.

And after two failed executions in five months, Tennessee has some serious questions to answer.

Key Takeaways

• Christa Pike survived Tennessee’s September 30, 2026 execution attempt after the state administered two doses of pentobarbital.
• Pike was sentenced to death for the 1995 murder of Colleen Slemmer, who was 19 years old.
• Pike’s attorneys warned about IV access problems before the execution. They believe the drugs entered surrounding tissue, but the precise cause remains under investigation.
• Tony Carruthers also survived a failed Tennessee execution attempt in May 2026 after staff could not establish the required IV access.
• Dr. Mark Fowler was involved in both attempts, raising questions about personnel qualifications and oversight without establishing individual fault.
• Tennessee’s corrections commissioner, Frank Strada, resigned after Pike’s failed execution.
• Governor Bill Lee paused executions through 2026 and ordered an independent review.
• A Tennessee judge ordered the state to preserve evidence related to Pike’s failed execution.
• The Eighth Amendment prohibits cruel and unusual punishment, but Supreme Court precedent permits second execution attempts in some circumstances.
• Pike’s case presents unresolved legal questions because Tennessee administered lethal injection drugs and she survived.
• No new execution date has been announced as of October 22, 2026.

Frequently Asked Questions