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Christa Pike was supposed to become the first woman executed in Tennessee in more than two centuries, ending a 31-year legal saga with a lethal injection expected to take about 30 minutes.
Instead, the execution descended into an extraordinary medical and procedural crisis. Pike survived two supposedly fatal doses, remained alive hours after her scheduled execution and was eventually taken to a hospital in critical condition.
Inside the chamber, witnesses described singing, laughter, snoring and repeated signs that something had gone badly wrong.
Christa Pike Showed Little Sign Of Distress Before The Execution Failed
Christa Pike appeared remarkably composed as the execution began, even as the procedure that was supposed to end her life quickly began taking an unexpected turn.
Speaking to the Daily Mail, WVLT reporter William Puckett revealed that Pike stared at the ceiling while delivering her final statement, but did not apologize to the victim, Colleen Slemmer’s family.
Instead, she addressed the people who had criticized her over the years. “I even love the people who have hated on me. They’re the ones who need love the most,” she reportedly said.
Pike continued, “I’m going to leave this world the way I’ve spent most of my life – in love. I’m good now. I’m at peace. I’m ready to be free. I’m going to celebrate my freedom. This is a good day.”
The statement came after Pike had spent 31 years on death row. Her execution was originally scheduled for 10 a.m. on September 30, but as The Blast reported, an appeals court granted a last-minute stay before the U.S. Supreme Court overturned it.
By the time the execution actually began, seven media witnesses, five Tennessee Department of Correction officers and Pike’s lawyers were gathered in the viewing chamber. Slemmer’s family watched from another room.
Pike Started Singing As The Drugs Were Administered
The unsettling scene became even more unusual once the lethal injection was underway. At 7:33 p.m., Christa Pike complained that a vein in her arm felt as though it was about to burst. A minute later, she added, “One spot is really throbbing.”
Puckett said the 50-year-old did not visibly appear to be in severe distress. Instead, she continued speaking calmly, then took four deep breaths and began to sing.
“Be kind and gentle to yourself and may you be at peace,” Pike repeatedly sang, reciting words from a traditional Buddhist meditation.
As she sang, Pike looked around the chamber, including toward the area where Slemmer’s relatives were watching. Puckett said it appeared she may have been directing the words toward them.
“It felt like she was looking at us for a moment, knowing that we were back there, almost like she was saying a prayer for us,” he said.
Pike continued moving her feet beneath the blanket, prompting an officer to replace it. She later let out what Puckett described as a “joyous laugh and chuckle.”
Christa Pike Survived Two Doses And Began Snoring
The first dose was followed by a bizarre sign that the execution had not gone as intended. At 7:41 p.m., officials placed a rock where witnesses could see it, signaling that the drug had been administered. Pike’s eyes closed, and the curtain eventually dropped.
However, she was still alive. Instead of silence, The Blast reported that witnesses heard loud, deep snoring coming from behind the curtain. Puckett compared it to an old man sleeping and said, “It was like she was getting the best sleep of her life.”
The curtain rose again minutes later, and the rock had been removed. Pike’s spiritual adviser was brought back into the chamber as executioners administered a second dose.
The convicted murderer continued snoring heavily for several minutes. At 8:01 p.m., the rock was placed back in view. Four minutes later, her body moved abruptly, and she gave a significant gasp for air before the curtain dropped again.
What followed was nearly 50 minutes of confusion. The media could still hear Pike snoring while doors opened and closed inside the death chamber and people moved around. Her lawyers repeatedly entered and left the viewing room.
When the media were escorted out at 8:53 p.m., Pike was still breathing. She was later taken by ambulance to a hospital, where she remained in critical condition.
More From The Blast
- Christa Pike previously said she felt a “kinship” with Lindsay Clancy over what she called “uniquely female issues”.
- Pike claimed that she was “ready to go” and “at peace” before entering the death chamber.
Pike’s Botched Execution Leaves Slemmer’s Family Demanding Answers
For Slemmer’s family, the failed execution meant that the ending they had waited decades to see never came.
Slemmer’s mother, May Martinez, and stepfather, Raul Martinez, traveled from Florida to Nashville to witness Christa Pike’s execution, but instead watched as the procedure was halted.
May later described the experience in an interview, saying she never took her eyes off Pike during the attempt. She said the family had expected to witness the execution and leave knowing that Slemmer’s killer had received the punishment ordered by the court. Instead, they were left with questions about how the procedure could fail.
Raul also spoke out after the execution, expressing anger over what happened. He wrote that Slemmer’s family had waited more than 30 years for justice and questioned how Pike could survive two doses of pentobarbital.
“Unfortunately Colleen’s soul cannot rest until this monster succumbs to the 2 doses of Pentobarbital that she was given,” Raul wrote per The Blast.
Inside The 1995 Murder That Put Christa Pike On Death Row
The anger from Slemmer’s family goes back to the circumstances of the 19-year-old’s death.
On January 12, 1995, Slemmer, a fellow Knoxville Job Corps student, was lured to a secluded area near the University of Tennessee agricultural campus by Pike, her boyfriend Tadaryl Shipp and Shadolla Peterson. Prosecutors said Pike believed Slemmer was interested in Shipp.
The attack lasted roughly 30 to 60 minutes. Court records and trial testimony described Slemmer being beaten, kicked, and repeatedly cut with a box cutter and a miniature meat cleaver. Pike also told investigators that Slemmer’s throat had been slashed several times.
The violence continued as the group struck Slemmer’s head with pieces of asphalt. She eventually suffered fatal skull injuries. Prosecutors also presented evidence that a pentagram was carved into her chest while she was still alive.
Shipp later said he was the person who carved the symbol, although the crime became closely associated with Pike and helped fuel the period’s fears surrounding alleged Satanic activity.
The duo ultimately confessed and were convicted. Pike received the death penalty in 1996, while Shipp, who was 17 when Slemmer was killed, received life imprisonment with the possibility of parole. Peterson cooperated with authorities and was convicted as an accessory, later serving probation.
The Christa Pike Said ‘This Is a Good Day’ As Death Chamber Chaos Unfolded first appeared on The Blast
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