Christa Pike Survives Botched Execution in Tennessee
Witnesses recount a harrowing ordeal as lethal injection drugs failed to kill the convicted murderer, who remained alive and gasping.
Christa Pike, convicted of the 1995 murder of Colleen Slemmer, survived a botched execution on Thursday in Tennessee, according to witness accounts. The lethal injection procedure at Riverbend Maximum Security Institution reportedly failed to kill Pike, leaving her alive and distressed.
One witness described a minute-by-minute account of the execution, stating Pike sang and cackled as the drugs were administered. Seven needles were inserted, but Pike reportedly remained conscious and gasping, a situation described as unprecedented.
Pike was convicted of the murder of Slemmer, a 19-year-old woman she tortured and killed with a piece of asphalt. Pike was found guilty of first-degree murder in 1996 and was the first woman on death row in Tennessee. Her attorneys had previously argued that her thrombocytosis, a condition causing an elevated platelet count, could complicate the lethal injection process.
Colleen Slemmer's stepfather, Jim Slemmer, a self-described computer nerd, had expressed his desire to witness the execution, stating that Slemmer's "soul cannot rest until this monster succumbs" to the drugs. Slemmer's family was present, with some planning to be in the front row holding a picture of their daughter.
Pike's sister, Alicia Wills, claimed her survival was a matter of God's will. Pike did not offer an apology to her victim's family in her final statement.
Emergency responders were observed rushing to the facility after the execution attempt. The state has not yet commented on the circumstances surrounding the failed execution or its next steps.