# Tennessee Death Row Inmate Survives Execution Attempt

> Tennessee death row inmate Christa Pike survived execution attempt after two lethal injections failed.
- Title: Tennessee Death Row Inmate Survives Execution Attempt
- Summary: Tennessee death row inmate Christa Pike survived execution attempt after two lethal injections failed.
- Keywords: christa pike, tennessee, us supreme court, death penalty, riverbend maximum security institution, pentobarbital, colleen slemmer, tadaryl shipp, miles carey, knoxville, news, world
- Source: BBC News — https://bbc.com/news/articles/cq8r6rjdvlx6o
- Published: 2026-10-01T09:59:59.333+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: christa pike, tennessee, us supreme court, death penalty, riverbend maximum security institution, pentobarbital, colleen slemmer, tadaryl shipp, miles carey, knoxville, news, world
## Execution attempt fails
Tennessee death row inmate Christa Pike survived execution attempt after two lethal injections failed, her lawyer says.

> Ms Pike has lost consciousness and still has a heartbeat and is audibly snoring.
## Medical emergency underway
Her legal team filed an emergency motion to halt the execution as it was happening, saying she was being provided life-saving measures in hospital.
## Pike's crime history
Pike was 18 when she and her then-boyfriend Tadaryl Shipp beat, tortured and killed 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer.
## Execution protocol details
Tennessee's execution protocol calls for a secondary set of pentobarbital-filled syringes in case the person does not die after the first set.
## State review ordered
Tennessee Governor Bill Lee ordered a comprehensive third-party review to determine exactly what occurred after the failed execution.
## Legal team's statement
Pike's legal team stated the state failed to carry out a lawful execution due to difficult vein access and degraded pentobarbital.
## Medical expert opinion
Dr Joel Zivot, a medical expert retained by Pike's team, said she likely never achieved sufficient blood levels of pentobarbital to cause death.
## Supreme Court involvement
The US Supreme Court overturned a reprieve granted by a lower court, allowing the execution to proceed initially but halting it later.
## Pike's clemency petition
Pike stated she was a mentally ill 18-year-old who intended to beat Slemmer but could not put the brakes on her actions.

> I was a mentally ill 18-year-old kid... It took me numerous years to even realise the gravity of what I'd done.
## Key takeaway

Tennessee death row inmate Christa Pike survived execution attempt after two lethal injections failed, prompting a state review of execution protocols.