{"id":866861,"date":"2026-10-01T08:36:09","date_gmt":"2026-10-01T08:36:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/866861\/"},"modified":"2026-10-01T08:36:09","modified_gmt":"2026-10-01T08:36:09","slug":"christa-pike-still-alive-snoring-after-2-lethal-injections-as-chaos-envelops-tennessee-execution-lawyer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/866861\/","title":{"rendered":"Christa Pike still alive, ‘snoring’ after 2 lethal injections as chaos envelops Tennessee execution: lawyer"},"content":{"rendered":"

The first woman set to be put to death in Tennessee in over 200 years <\/a>was given two doses of a lethal injection Wednesday evening, but remained alive as her botched execution descended into chaos \u2014 and prompted the governor to demand an outside probe and issue an emergency pause on all executions for the remainder of the year.<\/p>\n

Christa Pike, 50, was strapped to a gurney in the Riverbend Maximum Security Institution death chamber just before 7:30 p.m. CDT after the US Supreme Court overruled her stay of execution an hour earlier.<\/p>\n

Pike \u2014 \u00a0who, at 18, murdered her classmate in a jealous fit in 1995 \u2014 was injected with two syringes of the lethal drug, pentobarbital, but didn\u2019t die and could be heard \u201csnoring,\u201d according to her lawyers and witnesses.<\/p>\n

Death row inmate Christa Pike is shown in this 2023 Tennessee Department of Correction booking photograph. via REUTERS<\/p>\n

\u201cMs. Pike has not lost consciousness and still has a heartbeat and is audibly snoring,\u201d her attorneys wrote.\u00a0<\/p>\n

She was taken to a nearby hospital for treatment, and her condition is unclear, they said in an update Wednesday night.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have not been informed as to her condition.\u201d<\/p>\n

Witnesses on site at the Nashville prison to watch the historic execution take place recalled Pike speaking in full sentences as she was set to be injected with deadly drugs, The Tennessean reported.<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cMy arm feels like it\u2019s about to bust. One spot is really throbbing,\u201d WKRN reporter Tori Gessner heard Pike say.<\/p>\n

The convicted killer said she was going to leave this world the same way she spent most of her life: \u201cin love,\u201d Associated Press reporter Kim Chandler heard her say.<\/p>\n

\u201cShe said she had love for the people who were out here hating on her,\u201d Chandler said.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Emergency vehicles arrive at Riverbend Maximum Security Institution after the execution of Christa Pike was halted Wednesday, Sept. 30, 2026, in Nashville, Tenn. AP Photo\/George Walker IV<\/p>\n

\u201cShe closed her statement with saying, \u2018I\u2019m at peace. I\u2019m ready to be free.\u2019 Then something about celebrating her freedom, and then she closed with, \u2018This is a happy day.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

About an hour after she was given the first injection, Pike\u00a0was injected with the second deadly dose of the drug around 8:30 p.m., and witnesses were asked to leave around 20 minutes later.<\/p>\n

The convicted killer could be heard breathing the entire time, according to the media present.<\/p>\n

Witnesses were ushered out of the maximum-security lockup as emergency vehicles arrived outside the prison \u2014 with no answers as to whether Pike was dead or alive during the chaos. \u00a0<\/p>\n

No officials from the Tennessee Department of Correction were present at the news conference after the execution attempt \u2014 as they usually are \u2014 with one media witness observing, \u201cnothing about today was normal,\u201d The Tennessean reported.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Pike was taken to a nearby hospital for treatment, and her condition is unclear. USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect<\/p>\n

Following the shocking mishap, Pike\u2019s legal team filed an emergency motion to the Supreme Court to once again stay her execution, arguing that she was in \u201cunnecessary agony\u201d and she was denied her right to be executed without \u201ccruel and unusual punishment.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTonight the State of Tennessee once again failed to carry out a lawful execution,\u201d her attorneys said in a statement, the outlet reported.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe take no pleasure in being right, but the concerns raised by Ms. Pike proved to be true: difficult vein access, blown veins, degraded pentobarbital, no emergency medical care available when things inevitably go wrong, all under a protocol that remains veiled in secrecy.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Tennessee Department of Correction, however, said it followed all protocols during the botched execution.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Tennessee Department of Correction followed every step of the State\u2019s lawful, established execution protocol approved by the Attorney General\u2019s Office,\u201d department spokesperson Dorinda Carter said by email.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe 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. Christa Pike has been transported to an off-site medical facility.\u201d<\/p>\n

Media witnesses leave Riverbend Maximum Security Institution in Nashville, Tenn., on Oct. 1, 2026, after the execution of Christa Pike was halted. AP Photo\/George Walker IV<\/p>\n

In the Volunteer State, prison officials prepare one set of the lethal injection \u2014 but have enough of the deadly drug on hand to build a second set if needed, according to The Tennessean.\u00a0<\/p>\n

There is a five-minute waiting period after the first set is given, during which the blinds to the death chamber are closed.<\/p>\n

If the inmate is not dead after the first set, the backup set is administered \u2014 but the protocol doesn\u2019t outline what happens if the second syringes fail to kill the inmate.\u00a0<\/p>\n

By late Wednesday night, Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee called for a full, independent review of what may have gone wrong and has called off \u2014 for the time being \u2014 the one remaining execution scheduled in the state before the end of 2026.<\/p>\n

\u201cCarrying out a lawfully imposed sentence is among the State\u2019s most serious responsibilities, and the people of Tennessee expect it to be done in a manner that is not only legal and constitutional, but is effective,\u201d Lee said in a statement. \u201cTherefore, the remaining scheduled execution will not be carried out this year.\u201d<\/p>\n

Witness Catherine Sweeney recounts the planned execution of Christa Pike. USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect<\/p>\n

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Pike was handed a death sentence for viciously murdering Colleen Slemmer, 19, in a jealous rage in January 1995.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Her execution was delayed for hours after a dramatic last-minute stay by the Court of Appeals \u2014 which was ordered shortly before Pike was set to be put to death at 10 a.m. CDT.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The court ordered the stay based on Pike\u2019s claims that sexual abuse and rape she says she suffered as a child were not properly considered when she was sentenced.<\/p>\n

The order \u2013\u2013 which came after witnesses to the execution had already gathered at the prison \u2013\u2013 said that the \u201cshort stay of execution\u201d was to last \u201cuntil further order of this court.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Tennessee Attorney General\u2019s Office had asked the US Supreme Court to lift the stay shortly after it was announced Wednesday morning.<\/p>\n

The AG\u2019s appeal noted the last-minute delay of Pike\u2019s execution traumatized Slemmer\u2019s family and rewarded \u201cabusive delay tactics\u201d by her attorneys.<\/p>\n

By Wednesday evening, the nation\u2019s top court handed down a 6-3 decision that allowed Pike\u2019s historic execution to go ahead.<\/p>\n

Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor dissented alongside fellow lefty Justices Elana Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson.<\/p>\n

This undated photo provided by May Martinez shows her daughter, Colleen Slemmer, who was murdered in 1995 in Tennessee. May Martinez via AP<\/p>\n

Sotomayor wrote the ruling clears the way for Pike\u2019s execution to happen \u201cbefore her still-pending legal challenges to her conviction can be properly considered.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI see no reason to short-circuit the ordinary process of appellate review, particularly in light of the grave consequences of an erroneous decision,\u201d Sotomayor wrote.<\/p>\n

If the state allowed the order to lapse, the Tennessee Supreme Court would have had to set another execution date, according to Nashville-based attorney Kelley Henry, who is experienced with the state\u2019s death penalty law.<\/p>\n

Pike, her boyfriend Tadaryl Shipp, 17, and her friend Shadolla Peterson, 18, lured Slemmer, her Jobs Corps classmate, to an isolated area of the University of Tennessee\u2019s Knoxville campus to heinously torture and kill her.<\/p>\n

Pike was handed a death sentence for viciously murdering Colleen Slemmer, 19, in a jealous rage in January 1995. Family handout<\/p>\n

Peterson acted as a lookout while Pike and Shipp carved a pentagram into Slemmer\u2019s chest with a box cutter, gruesomely beat her with a meat cleaver and repeatedly slashed her throat while she pleaded for her life.<\/p>\n

At the end of the horrific ordeal, which investigators said lasted at least 30 minutes, Pike murdered Slemmer by bashing her head in with a large chunk of asphalt and then kept a piece of her skull as a souvenir.<\/p>\n

Prosecutors said Pike killed the victim because she believed Slemmer was trying to steal her boyfriend.<\/p>\n

Pike was sentenced to death<\/a> following her trial in 1996, while Shipp was sentenced to life in prison because he was a juvenile at the time and Peterson received probation for being an accessory after testifying against the pair.<\/p>\n

Christa Pike confers with her attorney William C. Talman during a motions hearing in Knoxville, Tennessee, on Jan. 17, 1997. USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect<\/p>\n

The last woman to be executed in Tennessee was Martin Eve, who was charged with being an accessory to murder and executed by hanging in 1820, according to the Death Penalty Information Center.<\/p>\n

Seeking clemency from Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee, Pike\u2019s lawyers had argued that she had suffered severe sexual and physical abuse during her childhood and undiagnosed mental illnesses at the time of Slemmer\u2019s murder.<\/p>\n

On Monday, Lee refused to intervene, and the US Supreme Court also denied Pike\u2019s final request<\/a> for a stay of execution on Tuesday.<\/p>\n

In a letter to NBC News before learning that her last-ditch attempts had failed, Pike wrote, \u201cWhether my clemency is granted or not, I am at peace.<\/a>\u201c<\/p>\n

\u201cI am not afraid to die,\u201d she added. \u201cI\u2019m only nervous about the process.\u201d<\/p>\n

In this image from video provided by WBIR-TV, Christa Pike cries after being sentenced to death on March 30, 1996 in Knoxville, Tenn. WBIR-TV via AP<\/p>\n

Slemmer\u2019s mother, May Martinez, traveled from her home in Florida to Tennessee for the execution.<\/p>\n

\u201cNot a day goes by, or a minute goes by that I do not think about Colleen,\u201d she said Tuesday.<\/p>\n

\u201cHolidays are the worst. Colleen\u2019s birthday was last week. She would have been 51.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pike\u2019s time on death row wasn\u2019t without violence.<\/p>\n

She was convicted of attempting to murder a fellow inmate by strangling her with a shoestring in August 2001 \u2014 and had 25 years tacked onto her sentence.<\/p>\n

Then, in March 2012, a plot to spring her from the Tennessee Prison for Women in Nashville, involving a corrections officer and a New Jersey personal trainer who Pike was in correspondence with, was thwarted.<\/p>\n

Pike said Monday she felt a \u201ckinship\u201d with Lindsay Clancy and was \u201cpleased\u201d the accused child murderer received a mistrial for killing her three children using exercise bands in 2023, the Times of London reported.<\/p>\n

Clancy\u2019s defense argued during the trial in Massachusetts that she was not criminally responsible because she was suffering from post-partum psychosis and heard a male voice telling her to kill her children and then herself.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are both females who got into trouble because of uniquely female issues,\u201d she told the outlet of Clancy.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was a mentally ill 18-year-old girl who committed a crime with two other individuals and I was the only one to receive this sentence. There are so many women who don\u2019t get the help they need: me and others.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pike asked for an all-female lethal injection team to carry out her execution, claiming she might be traumatized if men are involved.<\/p>\n

On Tuesday, the Tennessee Department of Correction confirmed that Pike had refused to request a last meal.<\/p>\n

With Post wires.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The first woman set to be put to death in Tennessee in over 200 years was given two…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":866862,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[4,450,123559,451,3,2219,452,453,194],"class_list":["post-866861","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-breaking-news","tag-breaking-news","tag-breakingnews","tag-executions","tag-headlines","tag-news","tag-tennessee","tag-top-stories","tag-topstories","tag-us-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/866861","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=866861"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/866861\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/866862"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=866861"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=866861"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=866861"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}