Christa Pike Could Still Face Execution After Botched Attempts
Nate Fair · Oct 5, 2026 · 2 min read
Christa Pike was set to die Wednesday. Instead, she survived failed attempts and now lies in a hospital.
The 50-year-old convicted murderer remains unconscious and in critical condition. Medical staff tried to start an IV multiple times. One needle was found bent after removal. Pike told staff her arm felt like it would burst open, according to the New York Post. She asked if the procedure was supposed to happen that way.
The Law on Mental Competence
Experts say the state cannot kill her if she is brain injured. Brain injury preventing comprehension of proceedings makes execution impossible.
The Supreme Court set this rule in 2019. In 2019, The United States Supreme Court ruled in a case concerning a dementia patient that executing someone unaware of their impending punishment is prohibited.
Pike’s lawyers argue she suffered permanent brain damage. Her attorney Randy Spivey said she likely has lasting injury. The drug used, pentobarbital, burns flesh on contact. Experts compare it to bleach or Drano. Pike’s arms were swollen, severely burned, and blistered when she was rushed to the hospital.
Double Jeopardy and Governor’s Power
There is a legal question about punishing her twice. Pike could have a strong argument for double jeopardy. Consequently, a convict is barred from receiving punishment two times for the identical crime. It could lead to life in prison instead of death.
Pike’s team wants Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee to commute her sentence. Lee halted state executions after this week’s failure. He ordered an independent review of the process. But other experts doubt a change will come.
The state has options. They could reject her arguments and set a new date. The state might dismiss all her arguments and simply establish a fresh execution date utilizing lethal injection once more.
Pike remains the sole individual in history who survived a lethal injection after the drugs had already entered her bloodstream. She was sentenced to death in 1996 for the brutal murder of her classmate Colleen Slemmer. Pike smashed Slemmer’s head with asphalt and kept a piece of the skull. She was 18 at the time of the killing.