Botched execution of Christa Pike leaves victim's mother waiting 12 hours

On September 30, Christa Pike, convicted of the 1995 killing of 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer, was set to become the first woman executed in Tennessee in two centuries. Victim’s mother May Martinez and her husband Raul Martinez Jr. drove from Florida to Nashville and entered the viewing room at Riverbend Maximum Security Institution at 8:30 a.m., anticipating a 10 a.m. execution. An emergency stay request caused a delay, and the execution did not commence until the evening.

Witnesses described the curtains being closed and reopened within minutes, with Pike gasping, moaning, and snoring, and a second dose of pentobarbital administered after 8:26 p.m. The procedure was stopped, and Pike was rushed to a hospital. After being escorted to a separate room, the couple met with the prison commissioner, who could not confirm Pike’s condition. Governor Bill Lee subsequently suspended all executions in the state and ordered a review of the botched procedure.