Christa Pike remains alive and is receiving life‑saving care in a hospital after a failed execution attempt prompted Tennessee’s governor to suspend all executions for the year.
Speaking to reporters on Thursday, attorney Randy Spivey said he has not yet seen Pike or spoken with her directly.
“We currently lack information on her prognosis or detailed health updates,” Spivey said. “However, we can confirm she is alive at this time.”
Pike, now 50, received a death sentence in 1996 for the murder of Colleen Slemmer. On Wednesday, Tennessee prison officials administered two lethal doses of pentobarbital, but she survived and was transported to a hospital.
She was 18 at the time, and together with her then‑boyfriend Tadaryl Shipp, she beat, tortured and killed 19‑year‑old Colleen Slemmer.
Had the execution proceeded, Pike would have become the first woman put to death in Tennessee in more than two centuries.
Tennessee Governor Bill Lee stated on Thursday that the investigation into the botched execution will be thorough, noting that it will take time to complete.
“There are many questions,” Lee said. “The public deserves answers, and this investigation aims to provide them.”
Lee has not yet identified who will lead the independent review of the state’s execution procedures.
His moratorium on executions will overlap with the scheduled December 3 execution of convicted murderer Gary Sutton.
In court filings, Pike’s attorneys said she required life‑saving measures following the botched execution.
The Tennessee Department of Corrections, which carried out the execution, released a statement defending its actions.
It stated that it “followed every step of the state’s lawful, established execution protocol approved by the attorney general’s office.”
“The lethal injection chemical used in the protocol has consistently been effective, and the protocol does not permit additional procedures beyond those performed this evening,” the statement added.
Pike received two doses of pentobarbital, as state protocol dictates when the first dose fails, yet she remained alive afterward, according to court filings.
“This execution is inflicting unnecessary agony on Ms. Pike and violates her right to be free from cruel and unusual punishment,” her lawyers said.
The Tennessee Attorney General’s office said in a statement that it supports the call for an investigation, adding: “We need to know what happened.”
Pike’s execution attempt went forward after a series of last‑minute legal challenges by her lawyers failed, with the U.S. Supreme Court overturning those challenges in the final hour.
Colleen Slemmer’s mother, May Martinez, who had advocated for the execution and traveled to Tennessee to witness it, told NBC News after the botched attempt that “it was a mess.”
U.S. Republican Senator Marsha Blackburn, who is campaigning for Tennessee governor, called the situation “tragic.”
“While a thorough review of what went wrong and why the process failed is warranted, the solution is simple: reinstate the electric chair,” Blackburn said.
Democrat Jerri Green, Blackburn’s opponent, criticized her for advocating the return of what she called one of the most cruel forms of capital punishment.
“As governor, I would impose a moratorium on all future executions,” Green said on X.
This marks the second occasion in 2026 that Tennessee officials have attempted and failed to carry out an execution.
In May, the execution of Tony Carruthers was halted after staff could not locate a vein for the lethal injection; he subsequently received a one‑year reprieve.
With additional reporting by Stephanie Hegarty, World Service correspondent
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