Christa Pike Returns to Prison After Failed Execution as Aunt Reveals Emotional Toll on Family

Christa Pike has been discharged from a Tennessee hospital after surviving a failed execution attempt while on death row. Pike’s attorneys said Saturday that she had been discharged from the hospital and taken back to the Deborah K. Johnson Rehabilitation Center, a women’s prison where she had served time for more than 30 years before the attempted execution.

Pike, 50, was sentenced to death for first-degree murder and had to be rushed to the hospital after officials botched her lethal injection. She kept snoring as the lethal injections failed to act. She has been serving prison time since 1995 for the beating and stabbing death of her classmate, Colleen Slemmer.

Back to Prison

“She is grateful to the first responders and her medical team for their care in these extraordinary circumstances. She is continuing to receive medical care at the prison, and we will continue to track her recovery,” her attorneys said in a statement.

Pike’s execution on Sept. 30 was halted after she regained consciousness despite receiving two doses of pentobarbital that failed to kill her.

Her attorneys said the injections left her arms burned and blistered because the drug had been administered into her arms rather than directly into her veins. Pike remained unconscious and on a ventilator during the first few days of her hospitalization, her legal team said earlier.

By Wednesday, she was able to take a few limited steps, and she needed help walking the next day. She has also begun regaining movement in her arms and managed to eat for the first time earlier this week.

The botched execution has drawn renewed scrutiny of Tennessee’s death penalty procedures. Gov. Bill Lee postponed another execution scheduled for this year, while the state’s prison chief resigned following Pike’s hospitalization.

On Wednesday, a judge ordered Tennessee officials on Wednesday to retain all evidence related to Pike’s botched execution. “This case is unique to say the least,” Judge I’Ashea Myles said.

“Take special care not to lose, misplace, or accidentally delete any information pertinent to this investigation,” she ordered.

During the hearing, Pike’s attorney, Luke Ihnen, asked the judge to have the shackles removed from her hospital bed and allow her to use a phone.

“Up until yesterday, our client was unconscious, unable to communicate with counsel, unable to communicate with medical providers,” Ihnen told the court.

Judge Orders Evidence Preserved

Assistant Attorney General John Ayers argued that no execution order was currently pending against Pike and said the Department of Correction had already preserved evidence from the failed procedure.

He said the retained materials included logbooks, observation records, medical waste and products, and electrocardiogram readings.

“It’s my understanding that the IV lines were cut, and so there may be portions of those IV lines that could have been still attached to Ms Pike when she was transported to the hospital,” Ayers said.

Pike’s aunt, Carrie Ross, previously described the emotional impact her niece’s botched execution had on the family. “It’s been up, down, up, down. I have cried more tears in the last week than I’ve cried in my whole life,” Ross said, adding, “This whole week has been a blur.”

The Death Penalty Information Center said Pike is the first person to survive an execution after receiving lethal injection drugs.