# Failed Executions Before Christa Pike

> Tennessee's failed execution of Christa Pike highlights a pattern of lethal injection failures across U.S. states.
- Title: Failed Executions Before Christa Pike · The Banner | Shortify
- Summary: Tennessee's failed execution of Christa Pike highlights a pattern of lethal injection failures across U.S. states.
- Keywords: tennessee, christa pike, lethal injection, death penalty, executions, tennessee government, death row, failed executions, news, local, Failed, Christa
- Source: The Banner — https://thebanner.com/politics-power/national-politics/death-penalty-maryland-UL5Y3NZ3QZAD7MUBSFMXAUDO3I
- Author: Josh Kelety and Anna Wilder, Associated Press
- Published: 2026-10-08T19:47:42.211+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: tennessee, christa pike, lethal injection, death penalty, executions, tennessee government, death row, failed executions, news, local
## Failed executions troubled other states
Tennessee’s bungled attempt to execute Christa Pike was not the first time a state failed to carry out a lethal injection.
## Christa Pike’s situation
Pike, 50, regained consciousness a week after Tennessee administered two lethal doses of pentobarbital.
## Tennessee review ordered
Outgoing Republican Gov. Bill Lee ordered a review into what went wrong after Pike’s execution attempt failed.
## Eight inmates remain alive
Pike is one of at least eight condemned U.S. inmates who left their state’s execution chamber still alive due to lethal injection failures.
## Ohio’s failed executions
Ohio failed to execute Romell Broom in September 2009 after technicians couldn’t find a suitable vein for lethal injection.
## Broom’s death
Broom died in December 2020 of possible complications from COVID-19 while on Ohio’s death row.
## Alabama’s failed executions
Alabama called off Doyle Lee Hamm’s execution in February 2018 after medical team members couldn’t find a suitable vein.
## Hamm’s death
Hamm died of natural causes on death row in November 2021 after Alabama’s failed execution attempt.
## Key takeaway

Tennessee's failed execution of Christa Pike is part of a national trend where eight inmates remain alive after failed lethal injections.