Overview
- Late Wednesday officials at Riverbend Maximum Security Institution gave Christa Pike two doses of pentobarbital but she remained alive, was heard snoring by media witnesses, and was taken by ambulance to an off‑site hospital.
- Her lawyers filed emergency motions during and after the procedure saying she was in "unnecessary agony" and asking courts to halt any further attempt while medical care is provided.
- The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit issued a short stay earlier in the day to review Pike’s mitigation claims and the U.S. Supreme Court later vacated that stay, allowing Tennessee to proceed with the evening attempt.
- The Tennessee Department of Correction said staff followed the state's approved protocol and confirmed Pike was transported for treatment, but the state's instructions do not specify what to do if an inmate remains alive after two rounds of injections.
- The failed attempt prompted Governor Lee to suspend the state's remaining 2026 executions and renew scrutiny of lethal‑injection practice, drug quality, vein access and the legal process for considering trauma and medical mitigation.