Gov. Bill Lee said he suspects Christa Pike’s sentence will remain unless a court changes it, The Independent reported Thursday, after he was asked Wednesday about Tennessee’s next step following her Sept. 30 attempt.
Lee was asked whether Tennessee would try to execute Pike again or whether he would commute her sentence to life in prison. “I suspect her sentence will be the same as before unless determined otherwise by the courts,” he said.
Pike, 50, was sentenced to death for the January 1995 killing of classmate Colleen Slemmer, when Pike was 18. She received two doses of lethal-injection drugs during the Sept. 30 attempt. She left the hospital on Oct. 10 and returned to her prison in Nashville, the Debra K. Johnson Rehabilitation Center. Her attorneys told The Independent she is still receiving medical care in prison and her prognosis remains unclear.
During the procedure, Pike first said she was at peace when asked for a final statement, then said her arm hurt before losing consciousness. Media witnesses were escorted from the execution room and an ambulance took her to the hospital, The Independent reported. The outlet said Pike later awoke with no memory of the episode and felt confused and angry about what had happened.
Tennessee has suspended its execution calendar for the rest of 2026 while officials examine the Sept. 30 procedure. The state also canceled its remaining scheduled execution for the year.
On Oct. 3, the Tennessee Attorney General’s Office announced it had retained former U.S. Attorney Ed Stanton to review how the Tennessee Department of Correction (TDOC) handled the attempt and whether changes to its protocol are needed. The announcement did not give a deadline for Stanton’s work. EconoTimes previously reported on the execution review and the circumstances surrounding the procedure.
TDOC Commissioner Frank Strada has announced his resignation, The Independent reported. The Independent also reported that death-penalty opponents want Pike to receive life without parole and are calling for capital punishment to end nationwide.
