Christa Pike’s legal team has given a detailed account of her failed lethal injection, describing moments when staff allegedly struggled to establish an IV line. As reported by The Tab, the team also shared that Pike can now speak in full sentences and walk without assistance.
On Sept. 30, Pike, who was convicted in 1995 of murdering 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer, was given two doses of a lethal drug at Riverbend Maximum Security Institution. When the injection did not work, she was rushed to the hospital and put on a ventilator, with doctors giving her a very small chance of survival, but she later woke up and began talking and walking again.
Her lawyer, Randy Spivey, gave a more detailed account of the execution attempt during a press briefing. According to court filings, the execution staff struggled repeatedly to establish IV lines in Pike’s arms before the procedure began, using up to 10 needles as they tried to find a vein.
The execution team was reportedly unsure whether the vein had blown
About 20 minutes into the attempt, the execution team allegedly began discussing whether Pike’s vein “might be blowing.” Two team members poked the IV site and agreed they could not tell whether they had found the vein, with Spivey’s account stating that one of them said something like, “It’s either blood or blown, I need to know.”
The team then tried another site, but the filings claim the needle was bent and pulled out. After several more attempts, the team set up a line in Pike’s right arm in about six minutes, but it reportedly took around an hour to establish one in her left arm. They then taped her hands down and connected her to a heart monitor.
Throughout the process, Pike was struggling, according to her legal team. She said, “I feel like my arm is about to bust. It burns,” and continued talking to her spiritual advisor for the next 10 minutes.
Spivey wrote in the court filings that Pike was still alive about 30 minutes after this, while her team tried to get the execution stopped. The attempt ultimately ended with Pike surviving two lethal doses.
Pike’s lawyers are set to meet with the state to discuss what happens next. Her attorneys are requesting four months to prepare arguments that Pike’s constitutional rights were violated, saying they need more time to assess the extent of her injuries from the failed lethal injection. They were originally given 30 days, and Pike’s next hearing was scheduled for Oct. 23.
Attack of the Fanboy was unable to independently verify the Tennessee Department of Correction’s side of the story, as these details come from Pike’s legal team.
Published: Oct 23, 2026 03:00 pm