Christa Pike Critical After Botched Lethal Injection
Attorneys for the convicted killer say she is hospitalized in critical condition following two failed attempts at execution.
Convicted Tennessee killer Christa Pike is hospitalized in critical condition after two botched lethal injection attempts on Wednesday, her attorneys announced Thursday. Pike, 50, was scheduled to be executed for the 1995 murder of 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer.
One of her lawyers, Randy Spivey, stated that Pike is alive but in critical condition, receiving life-saving care. He cited HIPAA rules as a reason for not providing further specific details about her health. "She is in critical condition receiving lifesaving care, that is the extent that we have at the moment," Spivey said.
Attorneys suggested that the execution may have been improperly administered, with the needle potentially dislodging or piercing through the veins. "Christa is alive right now," Spivey told reporters during a Zoom briefing. "We don't have a sense of her prognosis or much update on her health at the moment."
Pike was convicted of orchestrating the torture and murder of Slemmer, who was a classmate and perceived romantic rival. Her execution was set to be the first for a woman in Tennessee in over 200 years, but the U.S. Supreme Court had overturned an emergency stay of execution shortly before it was scheduled to proceed.
According to witnesses, Pike remained conscious during the procedure and reportedly asked prison officials about sensations in her arm after the second dose was administered. Her attorneys had previously requested alternative methods of execution, citing concerns about lethal injection.
Tennessee Governor Bill Lee has since halted the state's remaining scheduled executions for the year and ordered a comprehensive, third-party review into the incident. "I'm haunted by last night," Spivey added. "This is awful, and this kind of thing should never happen again."
Pike, along with two others, was convicted of Slemmer's murder, which involved prolonged torture, slashing, beating, and crushing the victim's skull with a piece of asphalt. Pike was 18 at the time of the attack. Slemmer's mother traveled from Florida to witness the execution.
