NASHVILLE, United States – Christa Pike was unconscious, intubated and receiving mechanical ventilation at a Nashville-area hospital as of Thursday evening, according to an emergency court filing by her attorneys, two days after Tennessee’s attempt to execute her with lethal injection failed.
Pike’s attorneys said she remained critically ill and that hospital staff were working to save her life and clear pentobarbital from her system.
The filing was submitted in Davidson County Chancery Court as Pike’s legal team sought an order requiring the Tennessee Department of Correction to preserve evidence from the execution attempt.
Tennessee Department of Correction records confirm that Pike was transported from Riverbend Maximum Security Institution to an off-site medical facility after the execution attempt. TDOC has not publicly identified a medical cause for the failure.
Pike’s attorneys disclose that she is on a ventilator
Pike’s attorneys said she was intubated, unconscious and receiving breathing assistance from a ventilator as of Thursday night.
They also said both of her arms were swollen, burned and blistered when she arrived at the hospital.
According to the attorneys’ court filing, hospital staff were working to save Pike’s life and clear the pentobarbital administered during the execution attempt from her system.
Those medical details are statements contained in the filing by Pike’s attorneys. No independent hospital statement establishing the extent or cause of Pike’s injuries has been identified in the public record reviewed by Journos News.
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Tennessee administered two doses of pentobarbital
Tennessee attempted to carry out Pike’s death sentence at Riverbend Maximum Security Institution on Sept. 30.
TDOC’s official statement said the department followed every step of the state’s established execution protocol, which had been approved by the Tennessee Attorney General’s Office. The department also said the protocol did not permit additional procedures beyond those carried out that evening.
Pike survived the execution attempt and was transported to an off-site medical facility.
The state’s official statement did not identify why the lethal-injection procedure failed or explain the condition of the intravenous lines used during the attempt.
Pike’s attorneys allege problems with the IV lines
Pike’s attorneys allege in their court filing that the IV lines used during the execution were not correctly placed or that the veins had blown.
They say that members of the execution team did not recognize the problem and that pentobarbital may have entered tissue rather than the bloodstream.
The attorneys also described repeated attempts to establish intravenous access.
Those allegations remain unproven. The court filing represents the position of Pike’s legal team and is not a judicial finding that the IV lines caused the execution to fail.
TDOC has said that personnel followed the state’s established execution protocol.
Pike’s attorneys seek preservation of execution evidence
Pike’s legal team has asked Davidson County Chancery Court to require Tennessee officials to preserve evidence connected to the execution attempt.
The request is intended to preserve material that could help establish how the execution was conducted, how the intravenous lines were placed and what happened to the pentobarbital during the procedure.
The Tennessee court record identifies Pike as the petitioner in litigation against Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti, TDOC Commissioner Frank Strada, Riverbend Warden Kenneth Nelsen and other state officials.
The evidence-preservation request therefore forms part of ongoing litigation over Tennessee’s execution procedures.
Tennessee has ordered a third-party review
Gov. Bill Lee has ordered a comprehensive third-party review of the attempted execution and halted Tennessee’s remaining scheduled executions for 2026.
The review is intended to establish what happened during the execution attempt.
The state’s official position remains that TDOC followed the established execution protocol.
The precise cause of the failed execution therefore remains unresolved between the defense allegations and the state’s account pending the review and further court proceedings.
Pike’s execution followed last-minute court proceedings
Pike’s execution was preceded by multiple legal proceedings concerning her death sentence and the state’s lethal-injection procedures.
The Tennessee Supreme Court had previously set Sept. 30, 2026, as Pike’s execution date. The court’s order directed the warden of Riverbend Maximum Security Institution to carry out the death sentence unless otherwise ordered by the court or another appropriate authority.
Pike subsequently sought relief from the U.S. Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court’s docket shows that Pike filed an application seeking a stay of execution on Sept. 25. The application was denied on Sept. 29.
On Sept. 30, the Supreme Court separately granted Tennessee’s application to vacate a Sixth Circuit stay, allowing the state to proceed with the execution.
The execution attempt subsequently failed.
Pike remains subject to her death sentence
The failed execution did not carry out Pike’s death sentence.
Tennessee court records continue to identify the case as State of Tennessee v. Christa Gail Pike, with Pike as the defendant and the death sentence remaining part of the underlying criminal case.
The Tennessee Supreme Court’s Sept. 30, 2025 order had set the execution date for Sept. 30, 2026, after determining that no legal reason then existed to prevent execution of the sentence.
The U.S. Supreme Court’s Sept. 30, 2026 order also expressly concerned the state’s attempt to execute Pike pursuant to her death sentence.
What remains unresolved
Pike’s attorneys now say she is unconscious, intubated and receiving mechanical ventilation following the failed execution attempt.
They also allege that problems with the IV lines resulted in the pentobarbital not being properly delivered into her bloodstream.
Those allegations have not been established by a court finding or an independent investigation.
Tennessee has confirmed that Pike survived the execution attempt, was transported to an off-site medical facility and that TDOC followed the state’s established execution protocol. The department has not publicly identified the specific cause of the failed procedure.
The state’s third-party review and the continuing court proceedings are expected to address what occurred during the execution and whether the execution protocol was properly carried out.
For now, the documented record establishes that Tennessee attempted to carry out Pike’s death sentence on Sept. 30, administered two doses of pentobarbital, did not complete the execution, transported Pike to an off-site medical facility, and subsequently faced an emergency evidence-preservation request from her attorneys. Pike’s lawyers have separately disclosed that she was unconscious and on a ventilator as of Thursday evening.
Reporting Credit: Davidson County Chancery Court; Tennessee Department of Correction; Tennessee Governor’s Office; Tennessee Supreme Court; U.S. Supreme Court; U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit; Pike’s court filings and attorneys; Tennessee Attorney General’s Office.
