Tennessee tried to carry out a death sentence last night and did not finish it.
Christa Pike, 50, was set to be executed Wednesday at Riverbend in Nashville for the January 1995 murder of her classmate, 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer, in Knoxville. Pike was 18 then. A jury convicted her in 1996. She is the only woman on Tennessee’s death row, and this would have been the first execution of a woman in the state in more than 200 years.
The day was already broken before the drugs went in. A federal appeals court paused it about an hour before the morning start. Hours later the Supreme Court cleared it, 6–3, and the state tried to finish before midnight. Media witnesses say the curtain opened around 7:27 p.m. Pike gave last words about leaving the world in love. Officials then administered two syringes of pentobarbital. Her lawyers told the court she still had a heartbeat, had not lost consciousness, and was audibly snoring. Witnesses reported she lifted her head and asked whether her arm was supposed to feel that way. Around 8:53 p.m. the media were escorted out while she could still be heard breathing. She was taken by ambulance to a hospital. Governor Bill Lee, who had already denied clemency, ordered a third-party review and stopped the remaining execution scheduled for this year. This is also the second time Tennessee has failed to complete a lethal injection in 2026. In May, one was called off because staff could not find a vein.
Colleen’s mother, May Martinez, told reporters afterward it was a mess. That family has waited more than 30 years for an ending a jury already gave them.
The argument this morning is not whether the sentence was lawful. The argument is whether a state that takes 30 years, races a court clock, and still cannot complete its own protocol is running a justice system or a delay system. Fix the protocol. Publish the review. Then carry out the sentence the courts already upheld. The victim does not get a second timeline.
TENNESSEE TRIED TO EXECUTE CHRISTA PIKE TWICE, AND SHE'S STILL ALIVE.
Pike tortured and murdered a former classmate back in 1995, and that young woman's family has waited more than 30 years for justice.
Witnesses say Pike was smiling and laughing during the process while asking whether the burning was normal.
Now she's in a hospital, and executions are on hold while the governor orders a review.
Meanwhile, the media will spend all week crying about her pain instead of what she did to her victim.
Figure out what went wrong, fix it fast, and carry out the sentence.
The victim never got a second chance, and her family deserves an ending.