Tennessee halts executions after death row inmate survives lethal injection attempt

Tennessee Governor Bill Lee halted the state's one remaining scheduled execution for the rest of the year following a failed lethal injection attempt on Sept. 30. The pause follows an incident involving Christa Gail Pike, a death row inmate convicted of a 1995 murder.

During the attempt, officials administered two doses of a lethal drug to Pike, but her attorneys reported she remained alive and was later transported by ambulance from the prison to a hospital. Governor Lee stated that the state must carry out lawfully imposed sentences in a manner that is legal, constitutional, and effective. An investigation into the failed execution is pending.

Pike, 50, was convicted of first-degree murder in 1996 for the beating and killing of 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer. Pike admitted to the murder, which she committed alongside her then-boyfriend.

Richard Garnett, director of the Notre Dame Program on Church, State and Society, said the failed execution illustrates the flaws in attempting to make killings appear medical or scientific.