US Execution Attempt Fails — Woman Survives Two Lethal Injections

On September 30, authorities in Tennessee attempted to execute 50-year-old Christa Gail Pike, who would have been the first woman put to death in the state since 1820. The procedure failed: after two doses of pentobarbital were administered, the inmate did not die, forcing prison staff to call emergency medical services.

The crime and sentencing

Pike was sentenced in 1996 for a brutal 1995 murder in which she, along with her boyfriend and another girl, tortured and killed a fellow trainee near Knoxville. Her accomplice avoided the death penalty due to his age at the time and is serving a life sentence.

A botched execution

Witnesses reported that Pike complained of pain during the procedure and remained alive even after the second dose. She was subsequently transported to a hospital in Nashville, where she was placed on a ventilator while medical staff worked to clear the lethal drug from her system. Her attorney said it remains unclear whether she will regain consciousness, and expressed doubt about her future ability to participate in legal proceedings.

The victim's mother expressed outrage over the outcome and over the fact that Pike showed no remorse before the execution attempt.

Fallout and review

Pike's lawyers are now seeking to have her sentence commuted to life in prison to prevent a second execution attempt. Following the incident, the head of Tennessee's corrections system announced his resignation, while the state's governor ordered an independent review and suspended all executions planned for this year. This marks the second time this year that an execution in Tennessee has not gone as planned — in May, another inmate's execution was postponed after staff were unable to find a vein for an intravenous line.