Pike remains unconscious on ventilator as lawyers demand evidence preservation in botched execution
Christa Pike, a Tennessee death row inmate, remains unconscious and on a ventilator after surviving a botched lethal injection attempt on September 30. Her legal team filed an emergency motion on October 2, alleging the state’s department of corrections acted with 'deliberate indifference' and 'reckless disregard' for medical protocols. Pike, who was convicted of the 1995 murder of Colleen Slemmer, suffered significant injuries to both arms, including burns and blisters, after two doses of pentobarbital failed to kill her. Governor Bill Lee has suspended all executions in the state until the end of 2026 and ordered an independent review. Medical experts suggest the drug may have leaked into tissue rather than the bloodstream, or that the drug itself was degraded, resulting in a sub-lethal dose that suppressed her respiratory system without causing death.