Tennessee stops all executions following failed lethal injection

Tennessee halts all executions after Christa Pike survives lethal injection

Tennessee Governor Bill Lee suspended all remaining executions in the state through the end of the year after a Wednesday attempt to execute convicted murderer Christa Pike failed, leaving her in critical condition in hospital.

Pike received two injections of pentobarbital. Her legal team reported her heartbeat continued throughout and that she could be heard snoring. Attorneys counted at least seven needle attempts in her left arm alone, with one needle described as bent upon removal. Pike's lawyers had warned in January filings that she suffered from thrombocytosis and small veins that complicated IV access, and had challenged the state's lethal injection protocol on those grounds. The Supreme Court permitted the execution to proceed at the eleventh hour.

The Tennessee Department of Correction defended its protocol, stating no additional procedures beyond those carried out were permitted under its rules. Governor Lee ordered a third-party review.

Pike was convicted of a 1995 murder committed when she was eighteen years old.