Tennessee inmate survives two lethal injections, taken to hospital

October 1, 2026 at 10:29 AM1 min

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Tennessee death row inmate Krista Pike, 50, survived two lethal injections of pentobarbital on Tuesday. Witnesses reported hearing her snore more than 40 minutes after the drug was administered. She was transported to a hospital, and her lawyers filed an emergency motion to halt the execution.

Key Facts

Krista Pike, 50, was sentenced to death in 1996 for the murder of a 19-year-old woman when Pike was 18.
The Tennessee Department of Correction said staff completed all steps of the approved execution protocol.
The U.S. Supreme Court lifted a stay of execution, with three justices dissenting.
Pike could have been the first woman executed in Tennessee in more than 200 years.

Failed Execution

Prison staff administered two doses of pentobarbital to Krista Pike, 50, at the Riverbend Maximum Security Institution in Nashville. Media witnesses reported hearing her snore more than 40 minutes after the drug was administered. Pike was transported to a nearby hospital, and her lawyers said they were not told her condition. The Tennessee Department of Correction said staff completed all steps of the approved protocol, which does not include additional procedures after the injections. The department did not state why the drug failed to cause death.

Legal Challenge

Pike's lawyers filed an emergency motion to stop the execution, arguing the procedure caused unnecessary suffering and violated her constitutional rights. A federal appeals court had stayed the execution an hour before the scheduled time to review defense arguments. The U.S. Supreme Court later lifted the stay and allowed the execution to proceed, with three justices dissenting. Pike was sentenced to death in 1996 for the murder of a 19-year-old woman she met at a Job Corps camp. Her defense sought a new sentencing hearing, citing childhood sexual abuse that was not fully presented to the jury.