Tennessee execution team members failed multiple times to establish working IV lines in Christa Pike’s arms before her attempted execution and warned that some of her veins may have ruptured, or “blown,” before she was injected with pentobarbital, according to a court document filed Thursday, Oct. 22, 2026.
Pike, 50, was sentenced to death for the 1995 killing of classmate Colleen Slemmer. She was 18 at the time, making her one of the youngest women sentenced to death. The Sept. 30 execution attempt was halted after Pike survived the administration of two doses of pentobarbital, which led to her being placed on a ventilator for several days.
Attorney Randy Spivey stated in the court filing that the IV team used about 10 needles while attempting to find usable sites on both of Pike's arms. Spivey wrote that staff even struggled to push saline through the final IV site that was eventually established. Although attorneys initially did not expect her to survive, Pike regained consciousness and was returned to prison after being discharged from the hospital.
The events affect Pike, the Tennessee Department of Correction, and potentially other death row inmates as the state’s lethal injection procedures face renewed scrutiny. State protocol does not specify how to proceed if a prisoner survives a second injection of the execution drug.
The incident raises legal questions regarding the reliability and administration of IV lines in Tennessee. Attorney T. Scott Jones is reviewing whether Pike can sue or if the state retains the legal right to attempt a second execution. The state has not yet announced a new execution date or provided a formal response to the details alleged in the Thursday court filing.