Christa Pike Remains ‘Alive and Snoring’ After 2 Lethal Injections, Her Lawyer Says https://t.co/KvnPFJLnhG
— People (@people) October 1, 2026
Christa Pike briefly received a temporary stay of execution from a federal appeals court, but the U.S. Supreme Court lifted it hours later.
Her execution was carried out earlier today, but after two lethal injections, she remains alive according to her lawyers.
They said she “has not lost consciousness and still has a heartbeat.” Journalists who witnessed the attempted execution described snoring and complaints from Pike about pain. An ambulance was seen arriving at the prison and then leaving. Medical aid was being administered, according to online federal court records, though her condition was not clear.
Following the failed execution, attorneys for Pike filed an emergency motion asking the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee to intervene and issue a stay.
Pike was sentenced to death for the 1995 murder of classmate Colleen Slemmer.
