Christa Pike, a 50-year-old death row inmate in Tennessee, was discharged from a hospital and returned to prison on Saturday after surviving a botched execution attempt on September 30. Pike’s attorneys confirmed her transfer to the Deborah K. Johnson Rehabilitation Center, where she has been held for over 30 years. She is continuing to receive medical care at the facility, including treatment for burns and blisters sustained during the failed procedure.
Pike was originally scheduled to be executed by lethal injection on September 30, but the process was halted after two doses of pentobarbital failed to achieve the intended outcome. Her attorneys stated she was unconscious and on a ventilator for several days following the attempt. By October 3, she had regained consciousness and was speaking. By October 4, she was taking limited steps with assistance, and by October 5, she was walking with some aid and regaining arm mobility. Her legal team reported that her lungs were clear and she had begun eating a regular diet.
The failed execution has prompted state-level scrutiny. Tennessee Governor Bill Lee postponed another execution scheduled for this year, and the state’s prison chief resigned following the incident. A judge has also ordered the preservation of all evidence related to the procedure.
Pike was convicted in 1995 for the murder of her classmate, 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer. At the time, Pike was 18 and, along with her then-boyfriend Tadaryl Shipp and another individual, subjected Slemmer to a prolonged and brutal attack in a wooded area near the University of Tennessee campus. The attack involved stabbing and slashing with a meat cleaver and box cutter over the course of approximately an hour. Pike has been incarcerated since her arrest in 1995 and was sentenced to death in 1996.
According to the Death Penalty Information Center, Pike is the only person known to have survived an execution attempt by lethal injection in the United States. Her legal team has stated she is grateful for the care provided by first responders and medical staff during her hospitalization.