Archive · 2 Oct 2026
Failed Christa Pike Execution Raises Questions About Pentobarbital
Christa Pike was supposed to be executed in Tennessee using a drug called pentobarbital.
Officials gave her two doses, but she did not die as expected.
Her lawyers said she was still breathing and suffered greatly.
Pentobarbital normally slows the brain and nervous system.
A very large amount can make a person unconscious and stop vital body functions.
Experts think the injection may not have gone fully into her vein.
Some of the medicine may have leaked into the tissue around the injection site.
Tennessee’s governor paused the execution process.
An independent investigation is expected to examine what happened.
Christa Pike remained alive after Tennessee officials administered two doses of pentobarbital during her September 30 execution.
Pike’s lawyers said she was still breathing, in critical condition, and experiencing unnecessary physical and mental suffering.
Pentobarbital is a short-acting barbiturate and central nervous system depressant that can be fatal in large doses.
Medical experts said an incorrectly inserted or leaking intravenous line may have caused some of the drug to enter surrounding tissue instead of the bloodstream.
Governor Bill Lee stayed Pike’s execution pending a third-party investigation into what went wrong.
- Who
- Christa Pike, Tennessee officials, her attorneys, medical experts, and Governor Bill Lee.
- What
- A planned lethal injection failed after two doses of pentobarbital were administered, prompting an investigation and a stay of Pike’s execution.
- When
- The execution took place on Wednesday, September 30; Governor Bill Lee announced the stay on Thursday, October 1.
- Where
- The execution was scheduled in Tennessee, where Pike was held at Riverbend Maximum Security Institution.
- Why
- Pike was sentenced to death for the murder of 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer; the injection’s failure may have resulted from improper intravenous delivery or leakage.
Critics and Pain Concerns
State and Supportive Experts
Potential suffering
Critics and Pain Concerns
Pike’s attorneys said she remained conscious enough to breathe and experience unnecessary physical and mental suffering. A federal review cited uncertainty about whether pentobarbital causes unnecessary pain and suffering and raised concerns about pulmonary edema, or fluid buildup in the lungs.
State and Supportive Experts
Other specialists cited in a later report said a lethal dose causes unconsciousness before pulmonary edema can create pain. A South Carolina corrections attorney also said inmates receiving the drug become unconscious in well under a minute.
Cause of the failed injection
Critics and Pain Concerns
Medical experts said an incorrectly placed or leaking IV could have sent too little pentobarbital into Pike’s bloodstream, allowing her to remain alive and possibly causing burning around the injection site.
State and Supportive Experts
Tennessee officials have not explained what went wrong. The state has ordered an independent investigation rather than publicly assigning a cause.
Use of large or repeated doses
Critics and Pain Concerns
Death-row lawyers have argued that administering two five-gram doses demonstrates the possibility of a lingering death in which a prisoner remains conscious and feels as though they are drowning.
State and Supportive Experts
States using similar protocols maintain that recipients become unconscious rapidly; South Carolina’s corrections officials said the heart’s occasional activity on a monitor reflects residual oxygen and electrical impulses rather than consciousness.
- Drug
- Pentobarbital, also known by the brand name Nembutal
- Drug type
- A short-acting barbiturate and central nervous system depressant
- Execution dose
- Tennessee and federal guidelines call for a five-gram dose
- Medical uses
- It can be used for seizures and has historically been used for insomnia and as a pre-anesthetic
- Reported complication
- Experts said the drug may have entered tissue surrounding the vein rather than Pike’s bloodstream
- Legal status
- Pentobarbital is described as a Schedule II controlled substance in the United States
- Next step
- Tennessee ordered a third-party investigation and stayed Pike’s execution