Christa Pike is beating death after she survived two lethal injections in 2026. Christa murdered a woman at the University of Tennessee over jealousy, now the governor has discontinued her death sentence
Christa Pike, 50, beat death twice on September 30, 2026 in Tennessee. Christa had been convicted and sentenced to death after she tortured, slashed, and fatally beat Colleen Slemmer in 1995 at the University of Tennessee.
Christa Pike
Christa was sentenced to death for the murder in 1996. Christa was scheduled for death lethal injection in September 2026. She was the 19th woman to be executed in the U.S. over the past 50 years and the only female on Tennessee’s death row since 1819.
Christa was brought to the death table to be strapped down at the Riverbend Maximum Security Institution in Tennessee. Pentobarbital was injected into her veins, but the drug did not work and Christa was still alive.
Christa was alive and audibly snoring after the injections. So prison officials tried again for a second time to inject her with Pentobarbital, but the lethal injection failed to work for the second time on Christa.
Christa remained awake, raising her head and asking prison officials about a sensation she was feeling in her arm due to the syringe not going into her veins properly.
Governor Bill Lee intervened and stopped the execution from going any further. Christa was then taken to the hospital for care. Governor Lee also stopped lethal executions for the rest of the year in Tennessee.
The next scheduled execution was Gary Wayne Sutton, on Dec. 3, 2026. There was also another failed lethal death row execution in Tennessee earlier in 2026.
Governor Lee said:
“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. I have ordered a comprehensive, third-party review to determine exactly what occurred.”
Christa Pike’s attorneys also released a statement:
“Tonight the State of Tennessee once again failed to carry out a lawful execution. We take no pleasure in being right, but the concerns raised by Ms. Pike proved to be true: difficult vein access, blown veins, degraded pentobarbital, no emergency medical care available when things inevitably go wrong, all under a protocol that remains veiled in secrecy.”
