Gov. Bill Lee says Christa Pike’s death sentence is unlikely to change after she survived two doses of a lethal injection drug during a September execution attempt, while her attorneys seek clemency and an independent investigation examines what went wrong.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee indicated Wednesday that convicted murderer Christa Pike will likely remain under a death sentence despite surviving a failed lethal injection last month, as her attorneys continue seeking to have her punishment commuted to life imprisonment without parole.
Pike, 50, survived an attempted execution September 30 at Riverbend Maximum Security Institution in Nashville after receiving two doses of pentobarbital, the drug used in Tennessee’s lethal injection protocol.
The execution was halted when Pike remained alive, and she was transported to a hospital. Following several days of unconsciousness and intensive medical treatment, she regained consciousness and was eventually returned to prison.
Lee said Wednesday that Pike remains incarcerated and that her existing sentence has not been overturned.
“I suspect her sentence will be the same as it was before unless determined otherwise by the courts,” Lee said, according to Fox News.
The governor’s remarks followed requests from Pike’s legal team to commute her death sentence because of the complications she suffered during the execution attempt.
Although Lee’s comments suggest that the sentence will remain in place, no second execution has been scheduled. Further proceedings, including legal challenges to Tennessee’s execution procedures, could affect whether the state can attempt to carry out the sentence again.
Following the failed execution, Lee suspended the state’s remaining executions for 2026 and ordered an independent investigation into the incident.
In an October 1 statement reported by Just the News, Lee announced a “comprehensive, third-party review to determine exactly what occurred.”
“Carrying out a lawfully imposed sentence is among the State’s most serious responsibilities, and the people of Tennessee expect it to be done in a manner that is not only legal and constitutional, but is effective,” the governor said.
The review is intended to determine why the lethal injection failed and whether prison officials properly followed established procedures.
Pike was convicted of the January 1995 murder of Colleen Slemmer, a 19-year-old fellow student at a federal Job Corps program in Knoxville.
Prosecutors said Pike, who was 18 at the time, participated in an attack on Slemmer alongside her boyfriend, Tadaryl Shipp, and another student, Shadolla Peterson.
The group took Slemmer to a secluded area near the University of Tennessee’s Knoxville campus, where she was beaten and stabbed. Her throat was cut repeatedly, and a pentagram was carved into her chest.
Pike later confessed to her role in the killing and was convicted of first-degree murder in 1996. She received a death sentence that was subsequently upheld by the Tennessee Supreme Court.
Shipp, who was 17 when the murder occurred, was sentenced to life imprisonment without parole because of his age at the time of the crime.
Former Knoxville Police Chief Phil Keith, who participated in the original investigation, recently recalled Pike’s behavior when she discussed the murder with investigators.
In the New York Post documentary No Mercy: Christa Pike Unraveled, Keith described her demeanor during questioning.
“I heard somebody that was ruthless, without any remorse, almost giddy,” Keith said. “You know, she was describing what took place, like, almost the sense that she was bragging about it.”
Keith confirmed those recollections to Fox News Digital, describing the crime and the investigation as experiences that remained with him decades later.
He also recalled accounts of Pike discussing the killing after returning to the Job Corps program.
“Pike, when she got back, you know, immediately had to express her joy with killing Colleen,” Keith said in the documentary. “And then the very next day in class, she bragged again, talking about how she killed Colleen. She showed her shoes that had blood on them.”
The brutality of the killing became a central issue during Pike’s trial and subsequent appeals.
Her execution was originally scheduled for September 30, 2026, which would have made her the first woman executed in Tennessee in more than two centuries.
Hours before the scheduled procedure, the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals issued a stay. The U.S. Supreme Court later vacated that order, allowing the state to proceed.
Prison officials subsequently administered pentobarbital, but Pike did not die.
According to court filings described by ABC News, attorney Randy Spivey, who witnessed the procedure, said the intravenous team experienced repeated difficulties establishing access to Pike’s veins.
Spivey reported that prison personnel appeared to use approximately 10 needles while attempting to administer the drug.
At several points, members of the team expressed concern that a vein had been damaged or that an intravenous line had not been properly established.
The attorney said Pike complained about intense burning and pressure in her arm shortly after the team appeared satisfied that the intravenous lines were in place.
“I feel like my arm is about to bust. It burns,” Pike said, according to Spivey’s declaration.
Her breathing subsequently became labored, but she remained alive after the administration of two doses.
Spivey said Tennessee’s execution protocol did not authorize a third dose of pentobarbital.
Emergency personnel were called to the prison, and Pike was transported to a hospital.
The Tennessee Department of Correction has maintained that personnel followed the state’s established execution procedures.
In its response to questions about the incident, the department said it “followed every step of the State’s lawful, established execution protocol approved by the Attorney General’s Office.”
The department also maintained that the drug specified in the protocol had previously been effective.
The differing accounts have become part of ongoing litigation over the constitutionality of Tennessee’s lethal injection procedures.
Pike’s attorneys argue that the failed attempt exposed her to severe suffering and that another execution could violate constitutional protections against cruel and unusual punishment.
They have requested that the state preserve physical evidence, medical records and other materials related to the procedure.
A Tennessee court granted a motion requiring preservation of relevant evidence following the incident.
Pike’s medical condition has improved substantially since the attempted execution.
Her attorneys initially reported that she was critically ill, unconscious and dependent on a ventilator. They subsequently said she regained consciousness October 6 and began communicating with medical personnel.
She has since been described as capable of speaking in complete sentences and walking, although questions remain about the longer-term effects of the procedure.
Her legal team has argued that the state should not attempt another execution after she survived the first.
The case raises legal questions about whether a second execution attempt would violate the Eighth Amendment’s prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment.
The U.S. Supreme Court has previously considered challenges involving failed execution procedures, but whether Tennessee can proceed again in Pike’s case will depend on the applicable legal standards and the findings concerning the September 30 incident.
Surviving an attempted execution does not automatically invalidate a death sentence.
The details of the procedure, the cause of the failure and the risk of unnecessary suffering during any subsequent attempt could become significant issues in future court proceedings.
The state also faces questions from Slemmer’s family, whose concerns about the case have continued throughout the execution process.
The failed procedure has prolonged the legal proceedings more than three decades after the murder.
Lee’s decision to suspend further executions through the end of 2026 means the state will not carry out another scheduled death sentence this year while the independent review proceeds.
The governor has not announced when the investigation will be completed or whether Tennessee will make changes to its execution procedures.
For now, Pike remains on death row under her original sentence, while her attorneys continue pursuing clemency and challenging the state’s ability to attempt another lethal injection.
Lee’s latest remarks indicate that the governor does not currently expect the sentence to change without further court action, but the question of whether Tennessee can legally proceed with a second execution remains unresolved.
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