Attorneys say the death row prisoner remains unconscious and on a ventilator as they seek a court order to preserve evidence

Christa Pike, a Tennessee prisoner sentenced to death for murder, remains unconscious, intubated and on a ventilator after surviving a failed execution by lethal injection, her attorneys said Friday, October 2.

According to her legal team, Pike is critically ill and suffered significant injuries to both arms. Hospital staff are working to save her life and clear pentobarbital, the drug used in the execution attempt, from her system.

Tennessee officials administered two doses of pentobarbital on Wednesday night, September 30. Neither dose resulted in her death, and Pike was subsequently taken to a hospital for emergency treatment.

Her attorneys outlined her condition in an emergency court filing seeking an order requiring the Tennessee Department of Correction to preserve evidence related to the failed execution. The request aims to protect material that could help establish what happened during the procedure.

The legal team suspects problems with the intravenous lines may have caused the drug to enter surrounding tissue rather than Pike’s bloodstream. That explanation remains an allegation by the defense and has yet to be established through an independent investigation.

Following the failed execution, Governor Bill Lee suspended executions scheduled in Tennessee for the remainder of 2026 and ordered an independent review of the incident.

The Tennessee Department of Correction said its staff followed the state’s approved execution protocol. The investigation is expected to examine the circumstances of the failed procedure, while Pike continues to receive critical medical care.