Christa Pike asked whether a botched lethal injection was normal as her arm turned purple during Tennessee’s failed attempt to execute her.
Pike, 50, had spent three decades on death row for the 1995 murder of Colleen Slemmer and was set to become the first woman executed in Tennessee in 200 years. The U.S. Supreme Court overturned a last-minute reprieve on September 30, clearing the way for the procedure to proceed at a Nashville-area facility.
Media witnesses described a scene that deviated sharply from standard executions. WKRN reporter Tori Gessner, who had observed five previous executions in the state, said in an interview afterward that nothing about the evening followed the usual pattern. At approximately 7:34 p.m., as officials administered the pentobarbital, Pike reportedly told those present: “My arm feels like it’s about to burst open.” She then asked: “Does this happen like that?”
After receiving two syringes of the lethal chemical, Pike remained alive and was heard snoring. She was then transported to an off-site medical facility for what her legal team described as life-saving care. Her attorney, Randy Spivey, said that he observed her arm “turning purple” during the procedure. Spivey added in a later statement: “It is our understanding that there’s some blistering and burning around the sites of the injection right now on her. I don’t want to guess what that means.”
Spivey provided an update on her condition in the hours following, telling reporters: “We don’t have a sense of her prognosis or much update on her health at the moment. But we do know that she is alive right now.”
The Tennessee Department of Correction issued a statement defending its handling of the execution, saying it “followed every step of the state’s lawful, established execution protocol approved by the Attorney General’s Office.” The department noted that “the 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.”
The failed procedure marked the second botched execution in Tennessee within four months. In May, the state abandoned its attempt to execute triple murderer Tony Carruthers after spending more than an hour trying to establish a backup IV line, which state protocol requires.
Governor Bill Lee responded by announcing an immediate pause on all executions in Tennessee pending a review. In his statement, Lee said: “Carrying out a lawfully imposed sentence is among the State’s 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.”
Before the procedure began, Pike had declined a personalized final meal and spoke what were expected to be her last words. She said: “I’m going to leave this world the way I spent most of my life, and that is with love. I’m at peace, I’m ready to be free. This is a happy day.” She then joined Reverend Mikey Noechel in repeating a message: “May you be at peace. May you be kind and gentle to yourself.”
Pike was convicted for the 1995 torture and murder of Colleen Slemmer, a fellow Job Corps student in Knoxville. Prosecutors said Pike, then 18, and an accomplice lured Slemmer to a remote spot, where Pike attacked her with a box cutter and a piece of asphalt before fatally bludgeoning her. Pike kept a piece of Slemmer’s skull as a souvenir, which became key evidence at trial.
Tennessee’s next scheduled execution, that of Oscar Franklin Smith, remains on hold while the state conducts its review.