Attorneys say Tennessee death-row inmate remains unconscious after failed execution

Christa Pike remained unconscious and on a ventilator after Tennessee’s failed attempt to execute her, according to a court filing by her attorneys. Pike was injected with two doses of pentobarbital on Wednesday but survived. Her lawyers said she was audibly snoring after the drugs were administered and was later taken to a Nashville-area hospital.

They believe the execution failed because intravenous lines were incorrectly placed or the veins had failed, causing the lethal drug to enter tissue rather than the bloodstream. The attorneys said officials did not recognise or correct the problem before administering a second dose. Pike was sentenced to death for the 1995 murder of 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer.

She had been due to become the first woman executed in Tennessee in 200 years. The episode has raised questions about what can happen next, including whether the state could attempt another execution if Pike survives the medical consequences of the procedure. Governor Bill Lee temporarily paused executions on Thursday and ordered a comprehensive third-party review.

The governor’s action followed criticism of the state’s execution practices and concerns about whether staff followed established procedures. Pike is believed to be the first person in the modern death-penalty era to survive after being injected with lethal execution drugs, according to the Death Penalty Information Center. The filing is the first account by her attorneys of her condition after the execution attempt.

It says her arms were injured during the failed procedure, although the supplied material gives no further medical assessment. Tennessee has faced earlier problems with lethal injections, including a halted execution in 2022 after officials discovered that drugs had been mishandled. The state has not announced whether or when it will resume executions or how Pike’s case will proceed.