Christa Pike was scheduled to be executed Wednesday for the 1995 torture and murder of 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer. But after receiving two lethal injections, the 50-year-old survived and was taken to a hospital. Her current condition remains unclear, while her lawyers are calling for the execution to be halted.
Before the procedure, Pike reportedly delivered what she believed would be her final words. According to the Nashville Banner, she said she would leave the world “with love,” adding that she loved both her supporters and critics. She also reportedly said, “I’m at peace, I’m ready to be free. This is a happy day.”
Pike was accompanied by her spiritual adviser, Rev. Mikey Noechel, with whom she reportedly shared a final prayer and sang a song before the execution. Witnesses described the atmosphere as unusual, while Pike appeared calm, smiling and laughing at times despite reportedly experiencing pain in her arm after the lethal injection began.
About 40 minutes after the injection, Pike’s heart was still beating and she reportedly began snoring. The failed execution has now prompted renewed questions from her legal team, who argue that she endured unnecessary distress. Had the execution been successful, Pike would have become the first woman executed in Tennessee in more than 200 years.