Pike remained alive after two doses of pentobarbital and was hospitalized in critical condition as Tennessee ordered an independent review.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — New witness accounts are adding detail to Tennessee’s failed attempt to execute Christa Pike, who remained alive after two doses of pentobarbital as observers reported that she sang, spoke, breathed and later made prolonged snoring sounds inside the state’s death chamber.
Pike, 50, was taken by ambulance from Riverbend Maximum Security Institution to a Nashville-area hospital after the Sept. 30 execution attempt. Her attorneys said Thursday that she remained alive in critical condition and was receiving life-saving medical care. Tennessee officials have not publicly explained why the lethal-injection procedure failed, and Gov. Bill Lee has ordered a third-party review while suspending the state’s remaining executions for 2026.
The New York Post reported Friday that witness William Puckett described Pike laughing and singing during portions of the procedure and later compared her prolonged snoring to someone sleeping deeply. Other media witnesses independently described Pike singing with her spiritual adviser, smiling, talking and continuing to breathe after the injections. The Associated Press, which had a reporter among the witnesses, reported that Pike and her spiritual adviser sang together before Pike began complaining that her arm hurt.
The execution chamber curtain was raised at about 7:27 p.m., according to the Associated Press. Pike was already restrained on a gurney with an intravenous line in place. After giving a final statement, she spoke with her spiritual adviser and sang. Witnesses later saw her raise her head and look around. She then said her arm was hurting and asked a prison official whether the sensation was expected.
The curtain was closed at 7:46 p.m. and reopened several minutes later. Tennessee’s lethal-injection protocol allows a second dose of pentobarbital when the first does not result in death. Witnesses said Pike eventually appeared to lose consciousness and began making rhythmic breathing or snoring sounds. The Associated Press reported that those sounds continued for roughly an hour, including after the curtain was closed again shortly after 8 p.m.
Pike’s attorney, Randy Spivey, said he demanded that officials stop the execution and provide medical treatment after it became clear that Pike was still alive. At about 8:53 p.m., witnesses were directed to leave the viewing area. Emergency vehicles reached the prison shortly afterward, and Pike was transported to an off-site medical facility. Her lawyers said the following afternoon that they did not yet have a clear prognosis but knew she remained alive.
The Tennessee Department of Correction said it followed the state’s established execution protocol. The department said the protocol did not permit additional procedures beyond those already carried out and confirmed that Pike had been taken to a medical facility. The agency has not publicly identified the cause of the failure. Pike’s attorneys have argued that complications involving intravenous access may have prevented the drug from entering her bloodstream as intended, but that explanation has not been established by the state’s review.
The failed execution was unusual because Pike apparently received the execution drug and survived. The Death Penalty Information Center has documented previous cases in which executions were abandoned after officials could not establish intravenous access, but the organization said Pike appears to be the first person in the modern U.S. death-penalty era known to have survived after execution drugs were administered. Tennessee also abandoned an execution earlier this year after officials could not establish a suitable IV line.
Pike was sentenced to death for the 1995 murder of 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer in Knoxville. Pike was 18 at the time of the killing. She was scheduled to become the first woman executed by Tennessee in more than 200 years. A federal appeals court temporarily halted the execution earlier Wednesday while considering a legal challenge, but the U.S. Supreme Court later allowed the state to proceed.
Slemmer’s mother, May Martinez, witnessed the attempted execution and later told the Associated Press that the outcome had denied her the conclusion she had expected after decades of litigation. Witnesses said Pike remained visibly responsive for part of the procedure and continued breathing long after officials began administering the drug.
Lee called the failed execution deeply disturbing and ordered an outside review to determine what happened. He also halted Tennessee executions for the rest of 2026. As of the latest public reports Friday, Pike remained hospitalized following the failed execution, while state officials had not announced when the independent review would be completed or whether any changes would be made to Tennessee’s execution protocol.
Author note: Last updated October 2, 2026.