A Tennessee death row inmate, Christa Pike, has survived an attempt to execute her after two doses of the lethal drug pentobarbital were administered, according to her lawyers and US media reports.
Pike, 50, was taken to hospital after the execution at Riverbend Maximum Security Institution in Nashville failed to result in her death.
Her legal team filed an emergency motion while the execution was underway, arguing that Pike had lost consciousness but still had a heartbeat.
One of her attorneys told the BBC that Pike was receiving what he described as life-saving treatment in hospital.
The attempted execution took place at about 8 p.m. local time on Wednesday, or 1 a.m. GMT on Thursday.
Supreme Court allowed execution to proceed
Pike had faced a last-minute legal challenge before her scheduled execution.
The US Supreme Court ultimately allowed Tennessee to proceed with the lethal injection.
According to court records and reports, Pike was sentenced to death for the 1996 murder of 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer.
Pike was 18 at the time of the killing. Prosecutors said she and her then-boyfriend, Tadaryl Shipp, attacked Slemmer after the three met at a job training programme for troubled teenagers.
Shipp was also convicted in connection with Slemmer’s death.
Execution protocol under scrutiny
The Associated Press reported that Pike was administered two doses of pentobarbital during the attempted execution.
The witness-room curtain was reportedly closed twice, while members of the media were at one point asked to leave.
Tennessee’s execution procedure provides for a second set of syringes if the first set does not result in death. However, the AP reported that the protocol does not specifically explain what should happen if an inmate remains alive after the second set.
Tennessee Governor Bill Lee has ordered an independent review of what happened.
In a statement reported by US media, Lee said the review would determine how the execution attempt unfolded. He also said the state’s remaining execution scheduled for this year would not proceed as planned.
Tennessee corrections department defends procedure
The Tennessee Department of Correction said it followed the state’s established execution procedure.
Department spokesperson Dorinda Carter told The Tennessean that officials followed every step of the lawful protocol approved by the state Attorney General’s Office.
The incident was not Tennessee’s first troubled execution attempt in 2026.
The execution of Tony Carruthers, who was convicted of kidnapping and murdering three people in 1994, was postponed in May after execution personnel reportedly could not find a suitable vein to administer the lethal drug.
Meanwhile, Slemmer’s mother, May Martinez, had supported Pike’s execution.
Speaking after Wednesday’s events, Martinez told NBC News: “It was a mess.”
