Christa Pike woke up: With a 7% botch rate, lethal injection is an engineering disaster

On September 30, Tennessee's attempt to execute Christa Pike via lethal injection failed after she received two doses of pentobarbital. Pike, who was convicted of the 1995 murder of Colleen Slemmer, survived for nearly an hour behind the execution curtain before being transported to a hospital. Following the event, Tennessee Governor Bill Lee issued a moratorium on executions through the end of the year, and a court ordered the preservation of all evidence, including IV lines and documentation of Pike's psychological state. While Pike's legal team is seeking a sentence commutation to life without parole, proponents of capital punishment have suggested alternate methods for future attempts.

On September 30, Tennessee's attempt to execute Christa Pike via lethal injection failed after she received two doses of pentobarbital. Pike, who was convicted of the 1995 murder of Colleen Slemmer, survived for nearly an hour behind the execution curtain before being transported to a hospital. Following the event, Tennessee Governor Bill Lee issued a moratorium on executions through the end of the year, and a court ordered the preservation of all evidence, including IV lines and documentation of Pike's psychological state. While Pike's legal team is seeking a sentence commutation to life without parole, proponents of capital punishment have suggested alternate methods for future attempts.