KNOXVILLE, Tenn., Oct. 1 (Infinite Headlines) — Tennessee halted the execution of Christa Gail Pike at a Nashville prison on Sept. 30, 2026, after two injections of pentobarbital failed to stop her heartbeat, according to her attorneys’ emergency court filings.
The Tennessee Department of Correction said Pike was taken to a medical facility. Her attorneys said they did not know her condition. The department said it followed its established execution protocol and that the protocol did not permit further procedures that evening. It has not said what went wrong.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit had stayed Pike’s execution before it was scheduled to begin, but the U.S. Supreme Court later lifted the stay.
Pike was sentenced to death for a 1995 killing committed when she was 18. After the halted execution, Gov. Bill Lee ordered an independent review and said Tennessee’s remaining execution scheduled for 2026 would not take place this year.
