What changed in this update
One of the youngest women sent to death row is set to be executed in Tennessee. If carried out as scheduled Wednesday, it would be Tennessee's first execution of a woman in 200 years.
Event intelligence
Botched execution of Christa Pike in Tennessee
12 connected story threads
Current state
Christa Pike has been discharged from hospital and returned to Tennessee prison after surviving the state's Sept. 30 lethal-injection attempt, in which two doses of pentobarbital failed to kill her. Tennessee has halted its remaining 2026 executions and ordered an independent review, prison commissioner Frank Strada has resigned, a judge has ordered preservation of execution evidence, Pike's attorneys are seeking commutation of her death sentence, and newly released 911 recordings show emergency
Grounded in 8 reports across 4 sources
In this event Emergency call about Christa Pike’s botched execution released 911 recordings reveal confusion after Christa Pike's botched execution Capital punishment is surging in the US – but after Christa Pike’s botched execution, what is its future? Christa Pike discharged from the hospital and back in prison Christa Pike Discharged From Hospital After Surviving Execution Attempt Christa Pike is walking with help and eating after failed execution attempt Christa Pike's lawyers push for commuted sentence after botched execution Christa Pike's prognosis still unclear after failed execution, lawyer says Tennessee Prison Commissioner Resigns Days After Failed Execution Christa Pike's attorneys: Botched execution was "torturous" and "predictable" Tennessee governor halts executions after second botched lethal injection attempt this year – US politics live
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NPR – US NPR
Tennessee is set to execute a woman for the first time in 200 years
One of the youngest women sent to death row is set to be executed in Tennessee. If carried out as scheduled Wednesday, it would be Tennessee's first execution of a woman in 200 years.
DW
Tennessee's prison chief resigns after botched execution of murderer Christa Pike
BBC News – World BBC
Tennessee prison chief to resign after Christa Pike's failed execution
Pike's lawyers said the failure "goes far beyond any one person". Pike is in critical condition after surviving two lethal injections.
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Al Jazeera
Tennessee prisons official resigns after Christa Pike’s failed US execution
The state's governor said Frank Strada would step down as an independent review examines what went wrong.
France 24
Tennessee prison chief who oversaw botched Christa Pike execution resigns
The head of Tennessee's prison system has resigned in the first major shake-up since the stunning failed execution of Christa Pike, who is in critical condition after surviving two lethal injections. Tennessee Governor Bill Lee, who previously denied Pike clemency, has halted further executions through the rest of the year while a review is conducted.
Guardian
Tennessee’s top prison official resigning after botched execution of Christa Pike
Frank Strada leaving position as state launches independent investigation into what went wrong Tennessee’s top prison official is stepping down in the aftermath of the failed execution of death row prisoner Christa Pike , the state’s governor Bill Lee announced Saturday. Frank Strada, the department of correction commissioner, will leave his position later in October as the state launches an independent investigatio…
ABC News
Tennessee Corrections commissioner resigns days after failed Christa Pike execution
Tennessee Department of Correction Commissioner Frank Strada he will resign days after the execution of Christa Pike was botched, the governor said.
NYTimes – US NYT
Tennessee Commissioner Resigns After Failed Execution of Christa Pike
Frank Strada, who oversaw the process that left Christa Pike unconscious and hospitalized, quit as an independent review began.
CBS
Tennessee prison system head to resign after failed Christa Pike execution
Christa Pike remains alive but unconscious and intubated after her failed execution on Wednesday, her lawyers said.
Sky News – World Sky
Prisons chief resigns after failed execution of Christa Pike in Tennessee
Tennessee's prisons chief has resigned after the failed execution of death row prisoner Christa Pike.
NYTimes – US NYT
How a Failed Execution Left Christa Pike Hovering Between Life and Death
Her legal team had repeatedly warned that her execution could go wrong. On Wednesday, they were proven right.
NYTimes – US NYT
‘How Does That Happen?’: America’s Execution System Is Long Flawed
The failed execution of Christa Pike, which left her clinging to life in Tennessee, was the latest grisly error to take place in an American execution chamber.
ABC News
Christa Pike unconscious and on ventilator after botched execution: Attorneys
Christa Pike, 50, was sentenced to death after being convicted of the 1995 murder of 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer.
DW
Christa Pike unconscious after failed execution — attorneys
Lawyers for Christa Pike said she's unconscious and on a ventilator after a botched execution attempt. Pike is believed to be the first person to have survived the administration of lethal drugs in the modern era.
Al Jazeera
Christa Pike unconscious, on ventilator after botched execution: Lawyers
The Tennessee woman's legal team says doctors are working to clear doses of the drug pentobarbital from her system.
PBS
Christa Pike on a ventilator and unconscious after failed Tennessee execution, attorneys say
The stunning failure in Tennessee's execution chamber on Wednesday has left both sides of the death penalty debate demanding answers. Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee has ordered an independent review.
CBS
Christa Pike unconscious, on ventilator after botched execution: Lawyers
Christa Pike "remains critically ill" and is receiving medical care after a botched execution attempt in Tennessee, her attorneys said.
Sky News – Front Page Sky
Death row inmate unconscious and on ventilator after botched execution, lawyers say
Death row inmate Christa Pike is unconscious and on a ventilator in hospital after her failed execution in Tennessee, her lawyers have said.
Guardian
Christa Pike remains unconscious and on ventilator after failed execution in Tennessee
Attorneys say hospital staff are working to clear pentobarbital she was administered from her system Christa Pike remained hospitalized, unconscious and on a machine helping her breathe after her failed execution in Tennessee, her attorneys said in a court filing Friday. The attorneys said hospital staff were working to save Pike’s life and clear the pentobarbital she was administered from her system as of late Thur…
NYTimes – US NYT
Christa Pike Was Unconscious and on Ventilator After Execution Attempt
The Tennessee inmate was brought to a hospital with burned and blistered arms after an unsuccessful attempt at lethal injection, her lawyers said in a court filing.
CBS
Questions emerge after Christa Pike's botched execution
Tennessee death row inmate Christa Pike survived two doses of a lethal injection drug during her attempted execution, her attorneys say. Officials are investigating what went wrong.
NYTimes – US NYT
Tennessee’s Botched Attempt to Execute Christa Pike Intensifies Concerns Over Lethal Injections
The failed attempt with Christa Pike has intensified bipartisan concerns about Tennessee’s ability to effectively carry out lethal injections.
Guardian
Christa Pike left in ‘critical condition’ as Tennessee halts all executions | First Thing
Failed attempt to execute 50-year-old prompts review of state’s execution practices. Plus the California woman who is allergic to cold Good morning. Tennessee’s governor has suspended executions as Christa Pike’s lawyer says the state’s failed lethal injection execution attempt has left her in a critical condition. Bill Lee, the Republican state governor, has suspended all executions in the state until at least the…
NPR – Politics NPR
Failed 'torturous' execution attempt on Christa Pike reignites death penalty debate
The botched execution in Tennessee of Christa Pike, who survived despite being subject to two doses of lethal injection on Wednesday, has reignited furious debate about the death penalty in the U.S.
Guardian
Calls grow for US death penalty halt after ‘torturous’ botched execution of Christa Pike
Pike alive but in critical condition as experts call ordeal that unfolded in Tennessee Wednesday ‘unimaginably barbaric’ Top lawyers, doctors and members of the faith community are calling for a moratorium on the US death penalty after Tennessee’s failed attempt to execute Christa Pike left the prisoner alive but in critical condition and receiving life-saving medical care. The recent spate of harrowingly botched ex…
NPR
Christa Pike's lawyer on her botched execution and the state's investigation into it
NPR's Michel Martin asks Randy Spivey, a lawyer representing a death row inmate who survived two lethal injections, about Tennessee's handling of executions.
Al Jazeera
Lawyers for US inmate who survived lethal injections demand release
Christa Pike is in critical condition after two failed attempts to execute her by lethal injection, her lawyer says.
Euronews
Christa Pike in critical condition after Tennessee botched execution, lawyer says
Pike was 18 when she and her boyfriend beat and killed Colleen Slemmer, 19, at a job training camp for young people.
TIME
Tennessee Reviews Lethal Injection Process After Botched Execution
Christa Pike, who has been on death row for over 30 years for murder, is the first person in the modern era of the U.S. death penalty to receive lethal injection drugs and survive.
CBS
Christa Pike said she was "ready to be free" before her botched execution
In her final statement before her botched execution, convicted killer Christa Pike said she was ready to die, "ready to be free." But instead, she survived two doses of a supposedly lethal drug, in the second failed execution in Tennessee this year. Skyler Henry reports.
Guardian
Tennessee suspends executions as Christa Pike’s lawyer says failed lethal injection leaves her in critical condition
Independent inquiry ordered after failed execution of Pike, who was convicted of 1994 murder Christa Pike: what we know so far about Tennessee woman’s failed execution Tennessee ’s governor on Thursday said it was “deeply disturbing” that his state botched the execution of a death row prisoner who remained alive and snoring 40 minutes after receiving a double dose of the lethal drug that should have quickly killed h…
Guardian
Death row inmate Christa Pike survives two lethal injections in Tennessee - The Latest
A woman convicted of murdering a schoolmate 30 years ago has been taken to hospital after surviving two rounds of lethal injections in Tennessee. Christa Pike would have been the first woman to be executed in the state in 200 years. Pike, 50, has spent three decades on death row after she was convicted of the murder of 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer in 1995. A last-minute appeal to stop the lethal injection was overtur…
NPR
Tennessee halts executions after woman survives lethal injection
Christa Gail Pike was sentenced to death for a 1995 murder and was supposed to be executed Wednesday night. But after two lethal injections, she was still alive.
CBS
Christa Pike still alive after two botched lethal injection doses
Christa Pike, who was supposed to the first woman executed by Tennessee in more than 200 years, is still alive after two botched doses during a lethal injection. Skyler Henry reports.
NYTimes – US NYT
After Failed Attempt to Execute Christa Pike, Tennessee Pauses a Planned Execution
Gov. Bill Lee, a Republican, ordered a review of the state’s lethal injection process after the botched attempt to put Christa Pike to death. She was hospitalized Wednesday.
Euronews
Death-row inmate Christa Pike seen during murder trial
File footage shows Christa Pike during her murder trial in Tennessee in 1996 and 2012.
Euronews
US death row inmate Christa Pike in hospital after surviving two lethal injections, lawyers say
Pike was 18 when she and her boyfriend beat and killed Colleen Slemmer, 19, at a job training camp for young people.
NYTimes – US NYT
What to Know About the Execution Attempt of Christa Pike
Ms. Pike, 50, survived two doses of lethal injection in Tennessee. She was sentenced to death for the 1995 murder of a classmate.
BBC News – World BBC
US Supreme Court allows execution of Christa Pike to go ahead
The death by lethal injection was scheduled to happen earlier on Wednesday before a lower court paused the execution.
NYTimes – US NYT
Supreme Court Allows Execution of Christa Pike, Tennessee’s Lone Woman on Death Row
Christa Pike tortured and murdered a classmate in 1995. She had been set to die on Wednesday, the first woman executed in the state in 200 years, until a lower court paused the execution.
Sky News – Front Page Sky
'One of the worst botched executions': Death row inmate survives two lethal injections
A Tennessee death row inmate set to be the first woman to be executed by the state in more than 200 years is still alive after being administered two lethal injections, her lawyers have said.
BBC News – World BBC
Execution of US murderer Christa Pike halted shortly before it was due to happen
Pike was convicted and sentenced to death in 1996 for the murder of Colleen Slemmer.
Guardian
Tennessee halts plan to execute woman for first time in 200 years
State governor and supreme court earlier refused calls for clemency for Christa Pike, who was convicted of murder Tennessee ’s first execution of a woman in 200 years was halted by a court on Wednesday morning an hour before it was set to take place. The state governor and the supreme court had earlier refused calls for clemency in the case of Christa Pike , who was convicted of murder 30 years ago. Continue reading…
Sky News – Front Page Sky
Tennessee to execute a woman for first time in 200 years
A woman is set to be executed in Tennessee today for the first time in 200 years.
CBS
What to know as Tennessee plans to execute first woman in 200 years
Christa Pike is scheduled to die by lethal injection Wednesday in Tennessee. If it proceeds as planned, she would be the first woman executed in Tennessee since at least 1820.
Guardian
Tennessee to execute a woman for first time in 200 years after governor denies clemency
Lawyers for Christa Pike, 50, convicted of killing classmate in Knoxville in 1995, ask supreme court to grant stay Christa Pike, a woman who was convicted of murder 30 years ago, is set to be put to death on Wednesday after her request for clemency was denied by Tennessee governor Bill Lee on Monday. If the execution goes through, she will be the first woman executed in the state in 200 years. Pike, who is now 50, w…
