Tennessee Death Row Inmate Survives Two Lethal Injections in Failed Execution

A death row inmate in Tennessee survived an attempted execution after officials administered two doses of lethal drugs, in an unusual incident that has drawn international attention.

Christa Pike, who has spent about three decades on death row, was scheduled to be executed on September 30, 2026, for the 1995 murder of a fellow student. The execution did not go as planned after the lethal injection process failed to cause her death.

According to reports, Pike received a first dose of pentobarbital, followed by a second dose after the initial attempt did not produce the expected result. More than an hour after the procedure began, she was still alive.

Witnesses reported hearing Pike breathing and snoring inside the execution chamber. Her attorneys later said she was taken to a hospital for medical treatment following the failed execution.

The case has attracted particular attention because lethal injection executions are designed to follow a controlled medical and procedural process. The circumstances surrounding Pike’s failed execution have raised questions about what happened during the procedure and why the drugs did not produce the intended outcome.

Pike was convicted in connection with the 1995 killing of Colleen Slemmer, a fellow student at a vocational training school in Tennessee. She was sentenced to death and subsequently spent decades in prison while pursuing appeals.

The failed execution means Pike remains alive while officials review what happened. The incident has also become the latest closely watched case involving the practical difficulties and consequences of carrying out a death sentence by lethal injection.

Authorities have not publicly provided a complete explanation for the failure of the execution. Further details are expected as the circumstances surrounding the procedure are reviewed.

Sources

• Associated Press — reporting on the failed execution of Christa Pike in Tennessee.
• The Guardian — coverage of Pike surviving two rounds of lethal injection.