# Christa Pike survives failed execution

> US death row inmate Christa Pike conscious after failed lethal injection.
- Title: Christa Pike survives failed execution · BBC News | Shortify
- Summary: US death row inmate Christa Pike conscious after failed lethal injection. US death row inmate Christa Pike survived a failed execution attempt in Tennessee…
- Keywords: christa pike, tennessee, death penalty, lethal injection, pentobarbital, colleen slemmer, tadaryl shipp, bill lee, nashville, news, world, Christa
- Source: BBC News — https://bbc.com/news/articles/c8kgezxn54qko
- Published: 2026-10-07T10:12:36.849+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: christa pike, tennessee, death penalty, lethal injection, pentobarbital, colleen slemmer, tadaryl shipp, bill lee, nashville, news, world
## Christa Pike survives failed execution
US death row inmate Christa Pike is conscious and speaking after surviving a failed execution attempt in Tennessee.

> US death row inmate Christa Pike is "conscious and speaking" after surviving a failed execution attempt in Tennessee.
## Pike in critical condition
Pike, 50, continues to receive critical medical care while handcuffed and shackled to the bed in hospital.
## Limited memory after attempt
An anaesthesiologist said Pike has some hospital memories but no recall of the execution attempt.

> She has some memories of being in the hospital but no memory, I believe, of the execution attempt
## Pike's incorrect date guess
Pike incorrectly guessed the month as September, believing the execution attempt occurred in September.

> She had made an incorrect guess at the date, believing that the month was still September
## Unprecedented survival
Experts and her legal team say Pike's recovery is unprecedented as she is the only person to survive a lethal injection.

> Pike is the only person for whom some kind of toxin has been injected
## Execution attempt details
Pike survived two lethal injections on 30 September in Tennessee after murdering Colleen Slemmer with her then-boyfriend in 1.

> Pike was sentenced to death after murdering Colleen Slemmer with her then-boyfriend in 1995
## Tennessee suspends executions
Tennessee Governor Bill Lee suspended all executions for the rest of the year after Pike's failed execution attempt.

> Tennessee Governor Bill Lee has suspended all executions for the rest of the year
## Key takeaway

US death row inmate Christa Pike survived a failed execution attempt in Tennessee, becoming the only person to survive a lethal injection.