Tennessee Governor Bill Lee has halted executions in the state for the rest of 2026 after death row inmate Christa Pike survived two attempts to execute her by lethal injection.
Lee said he was „highly disappointed” by the failed execution and had ordered an independent review of the state’s procedures. Speaking to reporters on Thursday, he said executions were among the state’s most serious responsibilities and that the investigation would need time to answer the questions raised by the case.
Prison officials attempted to execute Pike on Wednesday using pentobarbital. According to court filings, she was given a second dose after the initial attempt did not result in her death, in line with the state protocol. She remained alive and was taken to hospital. Her medical condition has not been made clear.
Pike’s lawyers said she required life-saving measures after the attempt. They argued in court filings that the procedure had caused her unnecessary agony and violated her right to an execution free from cruel and unusual punishment.
State officials defend protocol
The Tennessee Department of Correction said it followed each stage of the lawful execution protocol approved by the attorney general’s office. The department said pentobarbital had consistently been effective and that the protocol did not permit additional procedures beyond those carried out during the attempted execution.
The state attorney general’s office supported the decision to investigate, saying officials needed to establish what had occurred. Lee has not said who will conduct the independent review. The suspension will also affect the planned December 3 execution of Gary Sutton, who was convicted of murder.
Pike, 50, has been on death row since being sentenced to death in 1996 for the murder of Colleen Slemmer. Pike was 18 when she and her then-boyfriend, Tadaryl Shipp, beat, tortured and killed Slemmer, who was 19. Pike would have been the first woman executed in Tennessee in more than 200 years.
Her execution proceeded after several late legal challenges by her lawyers were unsuccessful, including a final-hour decision by the US Supreme Court. May Martinez, Slemmer’s mother, who travelled to Tennessee to witness the execution, told NBC News afterwards that the process had been „a mess”.
The case is the second unsuccessful execution attempt in Tennessee in 2026. In May, officials stopped the execution of Tony Carruthers after staff could not find a vein to administer the lethal drug. Carruthers was granted a one-year reprieve.
Republican Senator Marsha Blackburn, who is running for Tennessee governor, called the situation tragic and said the electric chair should be restored following a thorough review. Her Democratic opponent, Jerri Green, criticised that proposal and said she would impose a moratorium on future executions if elected governor.
Source: BBC News
