Two doses. She kept breathing.
On September 30, 2026, Tennessee tried to execute the only woman on its death row for the 1995 murder of Colleen Slemmer, and failed. This is the full record of her life, the crime and the 31-year legal fight, and a push to make sure Tennessee carries out its laws competently and in the open.
Read: the execution that failedLive updates
- Born
- March 10, 1976, Beckley, W.Va.
- Crime
- Jan. 12, 1995, Knoxville
- Sentenced
- March 30, 1996, at 20
- Status
- Hospitalized after failed execution
Latest from the case
All updatesLawmakers split on what comes next
Sen. Raumesh Akbari responded to TDOC's claim that it followed protocol: "If that is true, then the protocol itself is a problem." Democratic lawmakers cited a lack of transparency around drug testing and called for an independent investigation and a pause. At least one Republican called for a return to the electric chair.
Reporting: FOX 17Current protocol is less detailed and was never fully released
Tennessee's January 2025 protocol runs 44 pages, compared with 99 in the previous version, and gives far less detail on drug acquisition, testing and storage. The state has not said whether the pentobarbital used on Pike was compounded.
- breaking
Pike remains hospitalized; state has not disclosed her condition
As of Thursday morning, Christa Pike was in an off-site hospital after Tennessee failed to carry out her execution, according to her lawyers. Corrections officials have not publicly confirmed her condition, and her attorneys say they have not been told. Her death warrant expired at midnight local time.
Gov. Bill Lee orders third-party review and halts the next execution
Shortly before midnight, Gov. Lee said he had ordered "a comprehensive, third-party review to determine exactly what occurred" and that the state's remaining scheduled execution for 2026 would not be carried out this year. That execution, of Gary Wayne Sutton, had been set for Dec. 3.
The record, in four chapters
The execution that failed
Minute by minute through September 30, 2026: the stay, the Supreme Court, two doses of pentobarbital and an ambulance at 9:28 p.m.
Before Knoxville
Beckley, abuse documented decades later, a juvenile facility in the Blue Ridge, and Job Corps.
January 12, 1995
The killing of Colleen Slemmer, the dorm log that solved it, and three defendants with three fates.
Thirty-one years on death row
A televised trial, a turned-down plea, solitary confinement, an escape plot and every appeal.
Colleen Slemmer, 1975 to 1995
The Florida teenager who loved computers, and the family that has waited more than thirty years.
Whatever you believe about the death penalty, the state owes the public competence and transparency.
Tennessee has now failed two executions in four months, after four years of untested drugs. These eight standards come directly from what went wrong.
- 01A truly independent review, released in full
- 02A public protocol
- 03Tested, documented drugs
- 04A clear stop rule and emergency care
- 05Qualified personnel and medical screening
- 06Full witness access
- 07Let the courts finish their work
- 08Honesty and care for victims' families
Know when the next ruling lands.
One short email when there is a confirmed development: her condition, the governor's review, court orders, a new date. No spam.