Make New York Post a Preferred Source Christa Pike remains in hospital, unconscious and on a ventilator almost two days after her botched execution, her attorneys said Friday.
As of late Thursday, hospital staff were working to clear the pentobarbital drugs the convicted murderer was given during two bungled attempts to execute her at Riverbend Maximum Security Institution in Nashville on Wednesday night, the attorneys revealed in a court filing.
Follow live updates on murderer Christa Pike, the first death row inmate in history to survive lethal injection
This mugshot shows Christa Pike in a photo released on Oct. 1, 2026, in Tennessee. TDOC / SWNS “Apparently at no point did any member of the execution team realize that the IV lines were not correctly placed or that the veins had blown and that the pentobarbital was, in whole or in part, entering Ms. Pike’s body,” they wrote.
The lawyers argued that instead of “remedying this failure,” Pike’s executioners had given her a backup set of pentobarbital syringe.
Pike’s lawyers made the claims in a motion for the Tennessee Department of Correction to “protect and preserve any and all evidence” related to her attempted execution.
In a separate statement to The Post, her lawyers reiterated that “Christa remains hospitalized following Wednesday night’s failed execution attempt.
“She is critically ill, unconscious, intubated and receiving breathing assistance through a ventilator. She is being treated for the serious effects of the pentobarbital administered during the execution attempt, including significant injuries to both arms.”
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
