Christa Pike, a convicted murderer from Tennessee, is in critical condition after two failed lethal injection attempts. Pike, convicted of the 1995 murder of Colleen Slemmer, was slated to be executed, but complications arose during the process, her attorneys reported.
“Christa is alive right now,” stated her lawyer Randy Spivey during a Zoom news briefing. “We don’t have a sense of her prognosis or much update on her health at the moment.” Details on her condition are sparse due to health privacy regulations.
Pike’s other attorney, Stephen Ferrell, mentioned that the needle possibly dislodged or pierced through the veins, leading to improper drug administration. Again, specific medical details are unavailable due to privacy rules.
Pike was implicated in the brutal torture and murder of Slemmer, seen as a romantic rival. She was set to be the first woman executed in Tennessee in over 200 years after the U.S. Supreme Court lifted an emergency stay. Despite receiving two injections at the Riverbend Maximum Security Institution in Nashville, she remained alive.
Witnesses recounted Pike staying conscious throughout, even asking officials about the unusual sensation in her arm. Prior to the attempted execution, Pike had expressed concerns about the method and requested alternative execution means, which were denied.
Concerning the execution team, her attorneys said they did not contest the decision to have an all-female team. Slemmer’s mother had traveled from Florida to witness the execution but has not commented.
“I cannot imagine what this was like for the family of Ms. Slemmer or anyone close to them or to Christa,” Spivey added. “This should never happen again.”
Pike’s brutal crime at age 18 involved torturing Slemmer, assisted by her boyfriend Tadaryl Shipp and friend Shadolla Peterson. They lured Slemmer under false pretenses, then attacked her in a park. Court records show Pike kept part of the victim’s skull as a trophy.
Following the failed execution, Tennessee Governor Bill Lee has ordered a comprehensive third-party review of the incident. The state’s remaining executions for the year are also on hold pending this investigation.