The execution that failed

What happened

Christa Pike was set to become the first woman executed in Tennessee in more than 200 years[1]. Instead she became the second person in four months to survive a Tennessee execution attempt[1]. Witnesses heard her snoring loudly behind a closed curtain after both doses of pentobarbital, and she was taken by ambulance to an outside hospital[2][3].

"This event is the worst we've seen and unlike any other botched execution in the modern era. There is no precedent."Robin Maher, Death Penalty Information Center[4]

Minute by minute

All times Central Daylight Time, Riverbend Maximum Security Institution, Nashville.

1. ~9:00 a.m.Sept. 30

   Sixth Circuit grants a 2-1 stay about an hour before the 10 a.m. execution time, to review whether her childhood sexual abuse was fully considered at sentencing[1][3].

2. Midday

   Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti's office asks the U.S. Supreme Court to vacate the stay[1].

3. 5:50 p.m.

   The Supreme Court lifts the stay, 6-3, over a dissent by Justices Sotomayor, Kagan and Jackson[1][3].

4. 6:26 p.m.

   Media witnesses enter the witness room. The curtain opens; Pike is on the gurney and delivers her final statement[1].

5. During

   Pike says her arm feels "like it's about to burst open" and asks her spiritual adviser, "Does it happen like that?"[5][1]

6. 7:46 p.m.

   The curtain closes and her adviser, Rev. Mikey Noechel, is asked to leave[1].

7. 7:49 p.m.

   The curtain reopens and Noechel returns, indicating a second set of drugs[1].

8. 8:05 p.m.

   Pike's snoring grows louder. The curtain closes and stays shut despite witness requests[1].

9. ~8:26 p.m.

   Her lawyers file emergency motions in federal court and the Tennessee Supreme Court, saying she still has a heartbeat, and ask for life-saving measures[6][1].

10. 8:53 p.m.

    The chamber microphone cuts out. Witnesses are told to leave. Pike is still breathing[1][3].

11. 9:15 p.m.

    An ambulance and fire truck arrive[1].

12. 9:28 p.m.

    The ambulance leaves, followed by two TDOC vans[1].

13. After 11 p.m.

    TDOC says it followed protocol and that Pike is at an off-site medical facility[1].

14. ~11:50 p.m.

    Gov. Bill Lee orders a third-party review and halts the state's last scheduled execution of the year[5].

15. Midnight

    The death warrant expires[3].

Her last words

Witnesses said Pike spoke far more than expected, and sang with Noechel a song with the words "I love you"[1].

"I'm going to leave this world the way I spent most of my life. And that is with love. ... I'm at peace, I'm ready to be free. This is a happy day."Christa Pike, September 30, 2026[1]

The protocol

Tennessee's protocol calls for a set of syringes including two 50-milliliter doses of pentobarbital. After a five-minute wait, blinds close and a physician checks for a pulse; if the prisoner is alive, a backup set is prepared[5]. The protocol does not say what happens if the backup set also fails[5][1].

Her lawyers had warned of exactly this. "We take no pleasure in being right," they said, "but the concerns raised by Ms. Pike proved to be true: difficult vein access, blown veins, degraded pentobarbital, no emergency medical care available when things inevitably go wrong, all under a protocol that remains veiled in secrecy"[3].

TDOC said "the lethal injection chemical in the protocol has consistently been effective"[1].

Reactions

• Gov. Bill Lee: "The people of Tennessee expect it to be done in a manner that is not only legal and constitutional, but is effective. I have ordered a comprehensive, third-party review"[3].
• John North, media witness who covered the 1996 trial: "We have a lot of questions. And the Department of Correction has a lot of answers they need to provide the public"[1].
• Justice Sonia Sotomayor, earlier that evening: "I see no reason to short-circuit the ordinary process of appellate review, particularly in light of the grave consequences of an erroneous decision"[3].
• May Martinez, Colleen's mother, had driven 600 miles to witness the execution "so I can remember that she is gone"[1].

What happens next

As of the morning of October 1, Pike's condition had not been disclosed, and her lawyers said they had not been told[7]. The open questions this site will follow:

• Pike's medical condition and where she is held.
• The scope, leader and timeline of the governor's third-party review.
• Whether Tennessee seeks a new execution date, and whether courts allow it.
• Pending Sixth Circuit litigation over her sentencing.
• Legislative or legal challenges to the lethal injection protocol.

Sources for this page

1. Nashville Banner: Christa Pike survives botched lethal injection attempt
2. AP News: Tennessee governor halts executions after Christa Gail Pike survives
3. ABC News: Christa Pike appeared to still be breathing after attempted execution
4. The New York Times: Tennessee fails to execute woman after 2 doses of lethal injection
5. USA Today: Tennessee governor orders investigation into failed Christa Pike execution
6. Anadolu Agency: Tennessee inmate remains alive after receiving lethal injection
7. AFP: Tennessee woman in hospital after execution 'failed': lawyers