Christa Pike was minutes into her execution when she reportedly complained that something felt seriously wrong. According to WKRN journalist Tori Gessner, who witnessed the procedure, Pike said, “My arm feels like it’s about to burst open,” before asking, “Does this happen like that?” The execution would go on to last more than two hours, with witnesses reporting that Pike appeared to remain alive long after the lethal injection began.
Pike, 50, had been scheduled to die at Riverbend Maximum Security Institution for the 1995 murder of 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer, after spending nearly three decades on death row. Earlier that day, a federal appeals court had temporarily halted the execution while considering arguments from Pike’s lawyers, but the U.S. Supreme Court later allowed Tennessee to proceed.
Witnesses described the execution as highly unusual. Pike was reportedly still blinking, moving, smiling and even laughing after the first injection. One reporter said he saw a tear roll down her face, while another described her lifting her head and repeatedly moving her feet. After the curtain closed, witnesses said they could still hear breathing and what sounded like snoring.
Eventually, witnesses were escorted out and an ambulance was seen leaving the prison before Pike was taken to an off-site medical facility. Tennessee officials said the state followed its established execution protocol, which allows a second round of injections if an inmate has not been determined dead after the first. Pike’s attorneys and anti-death-penalty groups have challenged the process, while her final statement had been notably calm: “I’m at peace. I’m ready to be free. This is a happy day.”