Tennessee Leaders Eye New Execution Methods After Botched Christa Pike Lethal Injection: 'We Have to Find a Way to Do This Successfully'
Christa Pike spent 30 years on death row before a lethal injection gone wrong.
Oct. 7 2026, Published 3:50 p.m. ET
After 30 years of sitting on death row, convicted murderer Christa Pike managed to escape the long-awaited punishment when the lethal injection failed.
Now, Tennessee Governor Bill Lee is halting the last remaining scheduled execution for the year and ordering an independent review of the matter, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
'Capital Punishment Is the Appropriate Sentence for the Most Heinous of Crimes'
Tennessee Governor Bill Lee spoke to the press about his disappointment with the failed execution, looking into third party reviews.
"Carrying out a lawfully imposed sentence is among the State's most serious responsibilities, and the people of Tennessee have determined that capital punishment is the appropriate sentence for the most heinous of crimes. The people of Tennessee expect that those sentences will be carried out in a manner that is not only legal and constitutional, but effective, and that didn't happen," Lee said in a statement.
House of Representatives Speaker Cameron Sexton told a network the execution should still carry out as they move forward with no limits on alternative methods they use. The state plans to look into whether or not lethal injection should still be used, which is the primary method across the U.S.
Senator Marsha Blackburn said the botched execution should not call for the complete removal of the death penalty, but instead reexamine the state's methods. "If it's lethal injection, if it is electric chair, what we do know is we have to find a way to do this, and do it successfully," she said in an interview.
Christa Pike Was Rushed to the Hospital After the Injection
Pike was 18 when she was sentenced to death for the murder of fellow classmate Colleen Slemmer in 1995.
Pike, 50, was set to die by two doses of the drug pentobarbital on September 30, but administrators failed to secure proper IV access before the medication was distributed. Pike was rushed to the hospital after she was seen still alive and loudly snoring, suffering significant injuries to her arms.
In 1995, 18-year-old Pike murdered 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer in Knoxville after luring her into the woods with the help of her boyfriend. The couple spent about 30 minutes torturing her before Pike crushed her skull with asphalt. Two days later, she was arrested and sentenced the following year, becoming one of the youngest women in the United States to receive the death sentence at age 20.
This Is the State's Second Failed Execution Attempt This Year
This was the state's second unsuccessful execution attempt, following Tony Carruthers in May.
Lee also announced on October 3 that prison chief Frank Strada has also resigned. This was the state's second unsuccessful execution attempt, following Tony Carruthers in May.
The law already allows electrocution as an alternative method if lethal injection is unavailable. For those who committed crimes before 1999, they get a choice in how they want to proceed.
Christa Pike Was Nearly Taken Off Life Support
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Pike woke up in the hospital after being in critical condition and nearly brain dead for days.
Pike's lawyers filed a motion to halt the execution, saying she was in "unnecessary agony," urging the governor to change her death sentence to life imprisonment.
Pike woke up from her critical condition on Tuesday, October 6, and started speaking, though she is suffering from cognitive confusion, according to her attorney Randy Spivey.
The convicted murderer still has a long road to recovery, as she appears to be the first person to survive a lethal injection.
