TN Failed Execution

The failed execution of a convicted murderer in Tennessee has forced officials to revisit the current death penalty process. 

Convicted murderer Christa Pike was scheduled to face lethal injection in Nashville,  in late September for the brutal 1995 killing of her former classmate –an execution that ultimately failed and left Pike hospitalized. 

After three decades of legal delays, Pike’s execution date was set for September 30, 2026. She was scheduled to be the first woman executed in Tennessee in over 200 years. However, the execution was botched. The executioners administered two doses of lethal injection drugs, but Pike remained alive. She was complaining of severe pain in her arms before being rushed from the prison to a Nashville–area hospital in critical condition. According to NBC News, witnesses reported that she was “audibly snoring” after receiving two doses of the lethal injection drugs.

On Tuesday, October 6, just 6 days after the botched execution attempt, Pike woke up and was taken off the ventilator. Later she was alert and talking. 

“She has some memories of being in the hospital but no memory, I believe, of the execution attempt. She was able to recall her name when she woke up, but made an incorrect guess when asked what the date was, thinking it was still September,” Dr. Joel Zivot said. 

In 1995, Colleen Slemmer's body was found by two University of Tennessee employees in a bush. Her body was brutally beaten, and stabbed many times. Detectives later stated that Slemmer was stabbed with a box cutter and beaten with a meat cleaver many times. However, her official cause of death was a brain injury from a crushed skull from a large piece of concrete.

Pike’s trial started in Knox County in March 1996. Jurors listened to the audio recording of Pike’s confession to the police from January 14, 1995. In it, she admitted to slashing Slemmer's throat and throwing asphalt at her head, though she claimed the situation simply got out of control.

The jury was presented with multiple witnesses. At breakfast the morning after the murder, Kimberly Iloilo asked Pike what she had done with the fragment of Colleen Slemmer's skull. Pike replied: "And, yes, I'm eating breakfast with it." Later that same morning during a class, Pike pointed to dark, dried stains on her shoes and told Stephaine Wilson, "That ain't mud on my shoes, that's blood."

When Slemmer was murdered on January 12, 1995, Pike and Slemmer were 18 years old. They were students at the Job Corps training program for troubled teens. 

Pike’s case was unusually short, lasting only two weeks. The jury only talked about the conviction for only an hour. The sentencing phase only took a few days, concluding on March 30, 1996, where the jury officially sentenced her to death. This set off a three–decade legal battle that eventually led to the execution date being scheduled on the same day, 30 years later.

Pike's violent behavior didn’t end there. In 2001, while in jail, Pike attempted to strangle another inmate with a shoelace. This added 25 years to her sentence. 11 years later, in 2012, prison officials uncovered an escape plan that involved Pike, a New Jersey man, and a corrections officer. 

For nearly 30 years, Pike’s legal team filed multiple state and federal appeals. Their argument was that Pike suffered severe brain damage, mental illness, and a traumatic childhood. All of the appeals were denied.

After three decades of legal delays, Pike’s execution date was set for September 30, 2026. She was scheduled to be the first woman executed in Tennessee in over 200 years. However, the execution was botched. The executioners administered two doses of lethal injection drugs, but Pike remained alive. She was complaining of severe pain in her arms before being rushed from the prison to a Nashville–area hospital in critical condition. According to NBC News, witnesses reported that she was “audibly snoring” after receiving two doses of the lethal injection drugs.

On Tuesday, October 6, just 6 days after the botched execution attempt, Pike woke up and was taken off the ventilator. Later she was alert and talking. 

“She has some memories of being in the hospital but no memory, I believe, of the execution attempt. She was able to recall her name when she woke up, but made an incorrect guess when asked what the date was, thinking it was still September,” Dr. Joel Zivot said.

Slemmer's mother, May Martinez, and stepfather, Raul Martinez traveled from Florida to Tennessee, hoping to finally witness legal closure for the torture and murder of their daughter. Instead, they were left watching a chaotic, failed medical procedure unfold.

When asked if it was right for Pike to be charged as an adult for the murder, freshman AJ Mascaro and Molly Smith both agreed. “I feel like now that she (Pike) is going through this I’d be happy and relieved if I was the victim's family,” NHS freshman AJ Mascaro said.