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US Killer Survives Two Lethal Injections; Jailer Waited for Death, Prisoner Snored Loudly
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News18•01-10-2026, 13:28
US Killer Survives Two Lethal Injections; Jailer Waited for Death, Prisoner Snored Loudly
- •In Tennessee, 50-year-old Christa Gail Pike, sentenced to death for a 1995 murder, survived two doses of lethal injection.
- •Experts called this an unprecedented event as Pike remained alive and even snored loudly after receiving pentobarbital.
- •Pike was scheduled to be the first woman executed in Tennessee in 200 years, but a last-minute court stay was issued and later lifted.
- •Despite two doses, Pike remained awake, asking officials about her hand and later snoring, leading to her hospitalization.
- •This marks the second failed execution attempt in Tennessee this year, raising new questions about the death penalty process.
Key Questions Answered
Christa Gail Pike survived two doses of the lethal injection drug pentobarbital, remaining awake and snoring loudly before being taken to the hospital.
At the age of 18, Pike murdered her 19-year-old classmate Colleen Slemmer in Knoxville in 1995 using a knife and a stone.
This incident marks the second failed execution attempt in Tennessee within the year, following a canceled execution in May due to officials failing to find a vein.
