Tennessee inmate survives execution attempt and regains consciousness

Christa Pike, a prisoner on death row in Tennessee, survived her own execution on September 30, 2026. She received two doses of a lethal drug called pentobarbital, but she did not die. After the failed attempt, an ambulance took her to a hospital in Nashville. She was unconscious and needed a machine to help her breathe. By October 6, she had woken up and could speak. The execution left severe burns and other injuries on her arms. She is still handcuffed to her hospital bed. Her lawyers say her survival is medically unprecedented, meaning nothing like this has happened before. They have asked Tennessee's governor to change her sentence to life in prison. Pike was originally sentenced to death for a murder she committed in 1995.