Pope Francis Reportedly Intervened in Botched Execution of Christa Pike

Pope Leo XIV reportedly attempted to halt the execution of Christa Pike, a convicted murderer in Tennessee, before officials failed to carry out the lethal injection on Wednesday evening. Italian newspaper La Repubblica reported that the Pope's intervention was made, but authorities did not respond.

The Vatican has not confirmed the report. However, the Bishops of Tennessee issued a letter to Governor Bill Lee on Thursday, urging him to commute Pike's death sentence. The bishops stated, "We respectfully and urgently ask you to commute the death sentence of Christa Gail Pike and ensure that the State of Tennessee does not attempt to execute her again." They acknowledged the "horrific murder of Colleen Slemmer" but argued that "accountability need not require another death."

Pike, 50, was sentenced to death in 1996 for the 1995 murder of her classmate, 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer. Investigators stated that Pike and her boyfriend stabbed and beat Slemmer, and Pike carved a pentagram into Slemmer's chest, taking a piece of her skull as a souvenir.

Pike had been on death row for 30 years and was slated to be the first woman executed in Tennessee in over two centuries. Her execution was initially stayed by a federal appeals court an hour before it was scheduled to begin. The state of Tennessee appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, which took eight hours to overrule the stay and allow the execution to proceed.

According to Pike's attorneys, inside the execution chamber, at least seven needles were used in two unsuccessful attempts to administer the lethal injection. Her attorney reported that Pike was singing and offering blessings after receiving the initial dose, and at one point allegedly offered to direct medical personnel to a vein near her shoulder.

Witnesses reported that Pike remained awake and asked prison officials if her arm was supposed to feel a certain way. After a second dose of pentobarbital was administered, Pike was heard snoring until the microphone was cut off. She was subsequently transported to a hospital by ambulance. Her attorneys confirmed on Thursday that she was alive but in critical condition.

In the wake of the botched execution, Republican Tennessee Congressman Tim Burchett called for Pike to be executed by firing squad, stating, "Prop her up and bring her to a firing squad." He advocated for the state to move away from lethal injections, which he described as "problematic from the start," and suggested alternative methods like hanging. He proposed legislation for hanging, asserting it is a more reliable method.