Christa Pike’s failed execution is Tennessee’s second this year, after Tony Carruthers

Christa Pike has survived an attempted execution in Tennessee after being given two doses of pentobarbital, and she has since been taken to hospital.

Pike, 50, was due to be executed on Wednesday night after being sentenced to death for the 1995 murder of 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer. But the execution did not go as planned, with Pike remaining alive after both injections.

Via Tennessee Department of Corrections

Her lawyers filed an emergency motion while the execution was taking place, saying: “Ms Pike has lost consciousness and still has a heartbeat and is audibly snoring.”

One of her attorneys later told the BBC that Pike was “being provided life-saving measures” at hospital after the two syringes of pentobarbital had been administered.

The extraordinary situation has left plenty of questions about what happens next. Tennessee Governor Bill Lee has now halted all remaining executions scheduled for 2026 and ordered an independent review of what happened.

This isn’t actually the first time Tennessee has failed to carry out an execution this year.

Another Tennessee execution failed in May

Back in May, Tennessee was also unable to execute death row inmate Tony Von Carruthers.

Carruthers, who was sentenced to death over the 1994 murders of three people, was due to be executed on 21st May.

The execution team managed to establish a primary IV line, but couldn’t establish the required backup line. Officials also attempted to insert a central line, but that was unsuccessful, so the execution was eventually called off.

Via TDOC

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Rather than setting another immediate execution date, Gov. Lee granted Carruthers a one-year delay.

In a statement at the time, Lee simply said: “I am granting Tony Von Carruthers a temporary reprieve from execution for one year.”

Carruthers is therefore still alive and serving out that temporary reprieve, which was due to last for a year from his original execution date.

So what happens after a failed execution?

Tennessee’s execution protocol provides for a second set of drug syringes to be administered “if the inmate is not deceased” following the first set.

However, the protocol does not spell out what should happen if someone is still alive after the second set of drugs.

That is particularly relevant in Pike’s case, because she survived two doses of pentobarbital before being taken to an off-site medical facility. The Tennessee Department of Correction said it had followed every step of the state’s established execution protocol and that the protocol did not allow for additional procedures beyond those already carried out.

For now, Pike remains alive in hospital, while Tennessee’s remaining 2026 executions have been put on hold pending the review ordered by Gov. Lee.

The state therefore now faces questions not only about what happened during Pike’s execution attempt, but also about how it should proceed after a second failed execution attempt in the same year.

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Featured image via Tennessee Department of Corrections