Tennessee execution attempt fails, inmate survives and regains consciousness

Christa Pike, a prisoner on death row in Tennessee, survived a lethal injection attempt on 30 September 2026. She is now recovering in a hospital in Nashville. Doctors gave her two doses of the drug pentobarbital, but she did not die. About six days later, she woke up confused, asking staff where she was. Pike, who is 50, has serious health problems including blood clots, pneumonia, and swollen arms. She cannot swallow properly. She remains handcuffed to her hospital bed. A judge has ordered the state to keep all records from the failed execution. Pike was sentenced to death for killing her classmate Colleen Slemmer in 1995. Earlier in 2026, another execution in Tennessee was also stopped because staff could not find a vein.