Stories
Botched Execution: Christa Pike on Ventilator After Lethal Injection Fails
- •Convicted US murderer Christa Pike is unconscious and on a ventilator after a botched lethal injection attempt in Tennessee.
- •Witnesses reported Pike remained awake longer than expected and was heard snoring before being rushed to a Nashville-area hospital.
- •Pike's lawyers stated she arrived at the hospital with swollen, burned, and blistered arms, and medics are working to save her life.
- •Tennessee Governor Bill Lee has halted all further executions through the end of the year to conduct a review, following this and another failed execution attempt earlier in May.
- •Slemmer's mother, May Martinez, expressed anger and disappointment, stating the state failed her family and owes her an apology for the botched execution.
Key Questions Answered
Christa Pike is unconscious and on a ventilator after a botched lethal injection attempt on Wednesday where prison officials injected two doses of pentobarbital. Witnesses reported she stayed awake longer than expected and was heard snoring before being rushed to a hospital with swollen, burned, and blistered arms.
Following the botched execution, Governor Bill Lee halted all further executions in Tennessee through the rest of the year while a review of the state's execution protocol is conducted.
Christa Pike was convicted of the 1995 first-degree murder of 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer, her classmate at the Knoxville Job Corps. Pike and her boyfriend lured Slemmer to a secluded area and attacked her, a crime notable for its extreme brutality and a pentagram carved into the victim's body.
