Tennessee fails to execute Christa Pike after two pentobarbital doses; governor orders review

Tennessee officials failed to execute Christa Pike, 50, on the evening of Wednesday, 30 September 2026. She received two doses of pentobarbital at the Riverbend Maximum Security Institution in Nashville. She did not die.

The Tennessee Department of Correction said she was taken to an off-site medical facility. Her lawyers said she was being treated at a hospital.

Governor Bill Lee ordered "a comprehensive, third-party review to determine exactly what occurred." He said the state's remaining scheduled execution for this year would not be carried out.

Pike was the only woman on Tennessee's death row. She would have been the first woman executed in the state in more than 200 years.

This was Tennessee's second failed execution attempt in 2026. In May, the lethal injection of Tony Carruthers was called off after staff could not access a vein.

Earlier on Wednesday, a federal appeals court stayed the execution. The US Supreme Court later lifted the stay. According to France 24 and Daily Sabah, the court's three liberal justices dissented.

Media witnesses said the second dose had been given by 8:26 pm local time. They said Pike could be heard snoring behind the closed curtain until they were told to leave, at about 8:53 pm. According to France 24 and The Hindu, witnesses said she raised a concern about her arm.

Pike's lawyers filed emergency motions during the attempt. According to the BBC, District Judge Clifton L Corker noted in a ruling that medical personnel had begun to provide care. One of her attorneys told the BBC she was "being provided life-saving measures."

The state protocol provides for a second set of syringes. It does not say what happens if the person is still alive after that.

Pike was 18 when she and her then-boyfriend, Tadaryl Shipp, killed Colleen Slemmer, 19, in 1995 in Knoxville. She was sentenced to death in 1996.

The reports reviewed by Vocemundi do not describe Pike's current condition.

What is disputed

The BBC quotes the lawyers' filing as saying Pike "has lost consciousness." Al Jazeera quotes it as saying she "has not lost consciousness." Most reports give the scheduled time as 10 am. DW says 11 am. Reports also differ on how close to the scheduled time the stay was lifted.

What each side says

Governor Lee said the public expects a sentence to be carried out in a way that is "not only legal and constitutional, but is effective."

According to the BBC, which cited the Tennessean, prison spokesperson Dorinda Carter said the department "followed every step" of the approved protocol.

The BBC quoted Pike's legal team as saying the state "once again failed to carry out a lawful execution." The team cited blown veins, degraded pentobarbital and a lack of emergency care.

Dr Joel Zivot, a medical expert retained by the defence, said in an email quoted by the BBC that a delay in resuscitation could cause a brain injury.

According to France 24, the state Attorney General's office said last-minute delays traumatised Slemmer's family. The BBC, citing NBC News, quoted Slemmer's mother, May Martinez, as saying: "It was a mess."

Analysis

The failed attempt puts Tennessee's lethal-injection protocol under renewed scrutiny. It is the state's second failure this year. The governor's review could lead to changes in procedure, a longer pause, or a reaffirmation of the current protocol. The reports do not say who will conduct the review or when it will end. Legal questions also remain open. These include whether the state will seek a new date for Pike, and whether her lawyers will pursue claims of cruel and unusual punishment. Supporters and opponents of capital punishment may each draw different conclusions from the same events.

Produced by the Vocemundi newsroom with AI assistance.