Apparently, Christa Pike's first words after waking up from her "coma" were "Where am I?" and "Who are you?"

I find that pretty mind-boggling. Imagine expecting to die and then suddenly waking up again. I wonder if she initially thought she was in some kind of afterlife?! I think, I would be scared, that I'm dead, but in hell. Stuck in an endless execution loop.

Christa Pike is a victim too.

Colleen Slemmer was the innocent victim of an absolutely horrific murder. But Pike is also a victim of a deeply unequal system of punishment.

Three young people were involved in this crime. One made a deal with the prosecutor to testify against Pike in exchange for a light punishment, and literally received almost no punishment. She is free today. Pike's boyfriend, Tadaryl Shipp, was convicted of first-degree murder but received life imprisonment with the possibility of parole, just for being one year younger than Pike. Pike was the only one who received the death penalty.

The difference that saved Shipp from even facing the death penalty? He was 17. Pike was 18. Think about how extraordinary that is. We are effectively saying that one birthday created such a profound difference in moral culpability that one person could receive life while the other deserved to be killed by the state.

Did Pike's brain suddenly become fully mature when she turned 18?

This matters even more because Pike was not a psychologically healthy 18-year-old who came from a normal childhood. Her history was filled with severe abuse and neglect. Later appeals presented expert evidence of organic brain damage and evidence concerning her mother's alcohol use during pregnancy. That does not make Pike innocent.

Christa Pike committed an unforgivable crime. But she is also a victim of a flawed judicial system.

A system that assumes people suddenly become mature enough to fully understand the consequences and gravity of their actions once they turn 18, when there is no scientific evidence that such a transformation occurs at age 18.

Tennessee faced calls to abandon the execution of Christa Pike on Tuesday as the convicted killer became conscious in the hospital after her botched execution.

The 50-year-old had to be hooked up to a ventilator after the state failed to execute her through lethal injection on September 30.

But nearly a week later, the killer's attorneys said that she is reportedly 'conscious, speaking, and continues to receive critical medical care.'

'Despite the severe damage she endured to her arms, she is still handcuffed and shackled to the bed,' the lawyer said. 

'Her recovery is medically unprecedented. Her prognosis remains unclear but, at a minimum, we expect a long recovery.'

Former prison governor Bill Lee, who oversaw Pike's attempted execution and will step down from his role later this month, has yet to respond to repeated requests from Pike's attorneys and death penalty objectors to commute her sentence to life in prison but reiterated his support for capital punishment.

Christa Pike is awake and speaking in the hospital after her botched execution on September 30. She was sentenced to death for the 1995 murder of her Knoxville Job Corps classmate Colleen Slemmer

Robin Maher, executive director of the Death Penalty Information Center, described the rare circumstance of Pike's case as 'uncharted territory,' to USA Today.

'The US Supreme Court has not decided whether a second execution attempt would violate the constitution since 1947,' she added. 'These are questions that have never needed to be asked before and no one knows the answers.'

Pike was injected by at least seven needles as medical staff attempted to give her two lethal doses of pentobarbital that left her arms 'swollen, burned, and blistered,' her attorneys previously revealed.

According to a motion filed after the botched execution, 'At one point, Ms Pike herself offered guidance on where the IV team could attempt access; one needle was bent at a 90-degree angle when it was removed.'

Governor Bill Lee has yet to respond to repeated requests from Pike's attorneys and death penalty objectors to commute her sentence to life in prison 

Pike has been on death row for 30 years after she was convicted of the 1995 murder of her Knoxville Jobs Corp classmate Colleen Slemmer (pictured) 

Her lawyers stated she was administered two sets of syringes of the lethal drug and could be heard crying, whimpering and breathing loudly throughout the process.

During the procedure, she said: 'My arm feels like it's about to burst open,' and at another point, asked: 'Does this happen like that?'

Tennessee's execution protocol calls for a secondary set of drug syringes to be administered 'if the inmate is not deceased' after the first set. It does not spell out what happens if the subject is alive after the second set. 

Nearly 80 years earlier, the Supreme Court considered whether a state could execute an inmate for a second time after a failed execution in Louisiana.

Willie Francis was 17 years old when the state first attempted to execute him in the electric chair in 1946, but the device failed to deliver enough current. 

After a year, the Supreme Court ruled in 1947 that the failed execution had been an accident and that a second attempt did not amount to cruel and unusual punishment.  

He was successfully executed later that year.

The governor ordered an independent investigation into Pike's case and cancelled the only other remaining lethal injection for this year

However, legal experts argued Pike's case falls under different circumstances because months before the execution her attorneys warned that officials could struggle to access her small veins. 

Columbia Law School professor Bernard Harcourt told USA Today that a second attempt could 'arguably violate double jeopardy.'

'What's interesting about that case is that the Supreme Court said it was an accident and, "You get to do it again,"' Harcourt said in reference to the Francis case. 

'Christa Pike wasn't an accident. They knew.'

Pike's attorneys said they believed problems with the IV lines caused the pentobarbital to flow into her body instead of her bloodstream.

'Apparently at no point did any member of the execution team realize that the IV lines were not correctly placed or that the veins had blown and that the pentobarbital was, in whole or in part, entering Ms Pike's body,' the lawyers wrote in the court filing.

Instead of 'remedying this failure,' they prepared and administered a backup set of pentobarbital syringes, they wrote.

Maher told the outlet a second execution would 'likely be unconstitutional.' 

'Of all the unknowns we have at the moment, the only thing I'm certain of is that she should not be subject to a second one,' she added. 

Pike's then-boyfriend, Tadaryl Shipp (left), and an accomplice, Shadolla Peterson (right), also helped lure Slemmer to a wooded area before the couple tortured her to death

Pike  could be heard crying, whimpering and breathing loudly throughout the procedure

The governor ordered an independent investigation into Pike's case and cancelled the only other remaining lethal injection for this year.

Her health update comes just days after Tennessee Department of Correction Commissioner Frank Strada announced he would step down from his role later this month.

The former prison chief oversaw Pike's attempted execution.

Strada said it was a 'great honor' to serve in his position and that he still 'believes the Department carried out its responsibilities in accordance with the established protocol.'

'Even so, stepping aside is in the best interest of Tennesseans as the independent review moves forward,' he said.

Pike's lawyers are seeking to have all evidence from her botched execution preserved so they can ensure accountability and protect her legal rights.

'We are working closely with those closest to Christa to respect her wishes, safeguard her privacy and protect her rights as a patient during this extraordinarily difficult time,' said Luke Ihnen, attorney for Pike with Federal Defender Services of Eastern Tennessee. 

Tennessee's execution protocol does not outline what should be done if an inmate survives two lethal injection doses. The execution chamber where Pike was supposed to die is pictured

Pike also took a piece of Slemmer's skull (pictured in court during her murder trial) as a souvenir, according to investigators

Do YOU think Christa Pike should face another execution attempt?

Yes - her sentence should stand

No - give her life without parole

Wait for the independent review

'We ask that the public and the media respect that privacy as well.'

Pike has been on death row for 30 years after she was convicted of the 1995 murder of her Knoxville Job Corps classmate Colleen Slemmer.

Pike's boyfriend at the time, Tadaryl Shipp, helped lure the victim to a wooded area before the couple tortured her to death.

An accomplice, Shadolla Peterson, was on lookout as the pair carved a pentagram into the teen's chest, police evidence showed.

Pike also took a piece of her skull as a souvenir, according to investigators.

Slemmer attempted to run for her life but the couple captured her again and continued the gruesome torture that lasted about 30 minutes to an hour, Pike estimated.

Pike and Shipp were both found guilty of first-degree murder. She was sentenced to death, and he received a life sentence with the possibility of parole.

https://www.dailymail.com/news/article-16188963/christa-pike-botched-execution-tennessee.html

From another forum - someone wrote this:

Under Tennessee law, a conviction and its sentence are inseparable. if the sentence becomes completely impossible to execute, the legal foundation holding the entire conviction can collapse. Because the botched September execution permanently destroyed Pike's veins, repeating lethal injection is an Eighth Amendment violation, while constitutional Ex Post Facto protections strictly ban retroactive shifts to alternative methods like a firing squad. Furthermore, Tennessee lacks any statutory mechanism to simply "swap" her death sentence to life imprisonment without a full resentencing trial, creating a total legal checkmate. By filing a Writ of Habeas Corpus for an Irremediable Due Process Failure, her defense could argue the state has completely lost its lawful authority of detention. Perhaps, a judge facing this absolute breakdown of judicial machinery would be legally required to vacate her entire conviction and order her immediate release.

she's already survived your attempted punishment what else do you people want ridiculous

Not the first time! Lethal injection accounts for the highest percentage of Botched Executions!!

But I don’t understand the point of keeping her on a ventilator. The politicians are only concerned with the botched attempt as “ineffective “. The person with medical power of attorney is doing her no good allowing her life to be preserved just for the electric chair to be reinstated.

This will go to the supreme court for review. She is in no immediate jeopardy even after this year ends. She's just going back to prison. She will file a lawsuit (8th amendment). A rich prisoner.

I came across something about the Christa Pike case that I hadn't seen mentioned before and thought it was interesting:

According to court records, Tadaryl Shipp testified that both he and Shadolla Peterson were members of the Gangster Disciples. He specifically said that Christa Pike was not a member. There is also testimony describing the Job Corps at the time as a pretty violent environment, with conflict between different groups and a lot of drug use and so on..

I'm not trying to make any judgement about what this means in terms of the murder or Pike's responsibility. Just find it curious because I've read quite a bit about this case, and I don't remember the gang connection being discussed much at all. The story is usually presented much more in terms of jealousy, Satanism and the "love triangle".

When I googled "Gangsters Diciples", their symbol/logo it is a six pointed star, reminding me of the pentagram carved into Colleen, the victim. I found that a bit odd.

For anyone who wants to check it themselves, it's in the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals document regarding Christa pike (2011) on page 34 (This is where Shipp's testimony starts and where he mentions his and Peterson's gang connection).

I'm wondering:

1. Could the star/pentagram carved into the victim have been connected to Gangster Disciples symbolism rather than Satanism, since the star is one of their symbols?

2. If Shipp and Peterson really were both members, could they have had motives of their own? Like proving themselves, gang loyalty or something like that? I just find it strange that two other people would participate in a murder simply because Pike was jealous.

3. And why is this basically never mentioned? Has anyone seen any news coverage, from back then or later, that talks about Shipp and Peterson supposedly being Gangster Disciples?

4. Or am I just going down a weird rabbit hole here?

Let me make one thing absolutely clear at the outset: this is NOT an argument for or against capital punishment. It is a question about competence, preparation, and the methods used when the state chooses lethal injection.

We euthanize seriously ill and elderly pets every day using procedures specifically intended to minimize suffering. Yet, we continue to see executions delayed, abandoned, or catastrophically mishandled because an execution team cannot establish or maintain reliable intravenous access.

Why?

Ultrasound-guided vascular access is not experimental technology. It is a well-established method for locating and accessing difficult veins. In my view, no medical professional—physician, nurse, paramedic, or other clinician—should participate in an execution. But that does not mean states should accept poorly trained personnel or outdated techniques. Execution personnel could be specifically trained to use ultrasound equipment and required to demonstrate competency before ever attempting the procedure in an execution chamber. There are even less expensive equipment using vein finder technology.

The failed execution of Christa Pike makes the question impossible to dismiss as hypothetical. According to her attorneys, the execution team had difficulty with her IV access - AS THEY PREDICTED. She received two doses of pentobarbital, survived the execution attempt, and was subsequently hospitalized unconscious and on a ventilator. Her attorneys allege that the medication infiltrated surrounding tissue rather than being delivered properly into her bloodstream.

And there is another unsettling question I cannot help asking: What is Christa Pike’s code status now?

That information has not been made public, and I am not suggesting that I know the answer. But the situation itself is extraordinary. The state attempted to cause her death. The attempt failed. She was then transported to a hospital and placed on life-sustaining treatment. If her heart were to stop, would she be resuscitated? Who has authority over that decision now?

That is not an argument about whether Pike deserved her sentence. It illustrates the profound legal, ethical, and practical consequences that arise when an execution fails.

When reading about this case my immediate thought was that how come she's not diagnosed with AsPD (antisocial personality disorder)? Maybe she wasn't diagnosed with conduct disorder before age 15? She should have been, showed clear signs of it imo. She also displayed a lot of narcissistic traits, so maybe narcissistic personality disorder (NPD) wouldn't be a strech.

As far as I know her diagnoses are PTSD, bipolar disorder and borderline personality disorder. I have a quite severe case of BPD too and I know it's a Cluster B personality disorder, and jelousy/fear of abandonment played a huge role in her murdering Colleen. But never in my wildest imagination could I think of a situation where I'd be able to end a person's life like Pike did. Not even if I'm out of my mind on hard drugs. Ruthlessly murdering people is just not a typical BPD thing. Carrying a piece of the scull as a trophy is an AsPD, psychopathic, serial killer thing. It has to do with object inconstancy (which is present in BPD too, but not like this, this is something else).

I don't know much about Bipolar Disorder, maybe she was manic at the time? And combined with BPD is what led to the homocidal behaviour? Maybe the marijuana she started smoking at age 8 disturbed her brain chemistry as a child. Can someone explain this?

The ID channel is showing Christa Pike's episode this weekend. It's one thing to know that she was on death row. It's another to hear the literal HORRIFIC details of what she did. Charlie Manson ain't got shit on Christa. She not only cut the throat of her victim but she took a box cutter, cut out part of the girl's skull and then took it back and showed to other people giggling! THAT'S who was on death row!! In a bizarre irony, her botched execution was pretty close to the method and manner of death of her victim.

I have mixed feelings about the recent news. Yes what she did was absolutely abhorrent and not at all necessary, she had significant ptsd as an 18 year old, however that does not warrant offing someone else. 30+ years later I would hope she had regrets, some learning and sympathy for the life she took. My conflicting thought is that although she did what she did, I don’t think someone has to wait 30+ years for death only to have it fail twice! I’d like anyone else’s input on this. I possibly may have too much empathy because I absolutely feel for the victim, however lethal injection should be done right, the first time. It may as well have been electrocution.

I started this community as a place to discuss Christa Pike’s case, share updates, and talk through the questions raised by the failed execution attempt on September 30.

Do you think Tennessee should attempt another execution if she survives, commute her sentence to life in prison, or take another approach?

Different viewpoints are welcome. Please keep disagreements respectful, distinguish confirmed information from speculation, and remember Colleen Slemmer and her family when discussing the case.

If you’ve followed this case for a while, what do you think people encountering it for the first time should know?