Christa Pike survived an attempted execution in Tennessee after receiving two doses of a lethal drug, raising the possibility that state officials could try to execute her again under Tennessee law.
The 50-year-old’s execution attempt took place the evening of Sept. 30 at Riverbend Maximum Security Institution in Nashville. After surviving the injections, Pike was taken to a medical facility.
Tennessee law appears to permit another execution attempt. It states that if, “from any cause,” a person sentenced to death is not executed, “the sentence stands in full force,” according to People.
State officials have not announced whether they will request a new execution date for Pike.
Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee has indefinitely postponed Pike’s execution, along with the only other execution scheduled in the state this year, according to the Associated Press. Lee has also ordered an independent review of the failed execution.
“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 in a Sept. 30 statement. “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.”
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Second Tennessee Execution Problem Reported in 2026
Pike’s failed execution was not the first time this year that a Tennessee death sentence did not proceed as planned.
In May 2026, officials called off Tony Carruthers’ execution after medical personnel reportedly could not locate a suitable vein for a backup line, according to the Associated Press. Attempts to place a central line were also unsuccessful.
Soon afterward, Gov. Lee said Tennessee would not make another attempt for at least a year, the Associated Press reported.
Christa Pike Was Convicted in the 1995 Murder of Colleen Slemmer
Pike and her boyfriend at the time, Tadaryl Shipp, were convicted in the January 1995 murder of Colleen Slemmer. The 19-year-old was their classmate at a job training facility in Knoxville.
Prosecutors said Pike and Shipp lured Slemmer to a wooded area, where they beat and stabbed her to death.
Pike was 18 when the crime occurred and was sentenced to death. Shipp was 17 at the time and received a life sentence with the possibility of parole.
If completed, Pike’s execution would have made her the first woman executed in Tennessee in at least 200 years.