TRANSKRYPCJA 🔗
WEBVTT
00:00:11.420 --> 00:00:13.922
Hello, all you true crime divas and dudes.
00:00:14.221 --> 00:00:18.600
Sarah here with an In the Headlines update on the Christa Pike execution.
00:00:19.292 --> 00:00:25.871
Tina will be back for our regular episode, or maybe another In the Headlines, as there's some wild stuff going on out there, y'all.
00:00:26.080 --> 00:00:28.966
And man, has it been a crazy week for this story.
00:00:29.213 --> 00:00:33.637
But before we get into this update, I want to give you a strong content warning.
00:00:34.168 --> 00:00:48.518
I will be discussing death penalty and some extremely disturbing details of failed execution attempts, including graphic descriptions of physical suffering, struggling to breathe, and more.
00:00:48.734 --> 00:00:54.527
If that kind of content is particularly upsetting to you, you might wanna skip this episode.
00:00:54.682 --> 00:01:03.338
So, as we reported last week, Christa Pike is on death row in Tennessee and was scheduled to be executed last Wednesday, September 30th.
00:01:03.472 --> 00:01:16.090
Her legal team had submitted a last-minute clemency petition at the beginning of September, and on Monday, September 28th, Governor Lee made a statement concerning his decision on that clemency petition.
00:01:16.540 --> 00:01:34.879
He said,"After deliberate consideration of Christa Gail Pike's request for clemency and after a thorough review of the case, I am upholding the sentence of the State of Tennessee, and I do not plan to intervene." At that time, the execution still remained scheduled for 10:00 AM Central Time on Wednesday morning.
00:01:35.147 --> 00:01:39.055
Christa had contacted her loved ones and asked them not to attend her execution.
00:01:39.262 --> 00:01:50.573
And May Martinez, who is the mother of Christa's victim, Colleen Slemmer, was planning on driving the nine hours from Jacksonville, Florida to attend the execution in Nashville, Tennessee.
00:01:50.888 --> 00:01:56.251
Christa would be the first woman executed in the State of Tennessee in over 200 years.
00:01:56.625 --> 00:02:09.227
However, in the 11th hour, at around 9:00 AM on Wednesday morning, a temporary stay of execution was issued by the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals to review her existing appeals further.
00:02:09.366 --> 00:02:20.834
That stay lasted all of nine hours when, at 6:00 PM on Wednesday, the Supreme Court vacated the stay, and the State of Tennessee was given the go-ahead to move forward with the execution.
00:02:21.054 --> 00:02:28.581
Around 50 minutes later, at approximately 6:15 PM, prison officials started prepping Christa for her execution.
00:02:29.164 --> 00:02:38.475
Now, what normally takes around 10 minutes took them over an hour trying to insert needles for the IVs, with at least seven needles being discarded.
00:02:38.506 --> 00:02:41.871
One even came out bent after it had to be extracted.
00:02:42.717 --> 00:02:53.777
And this was no surprise to Christa's legal team, who had spent months stating that a medical condition that Christa suffers from would make the standard lethal injection procedure dangerous for her.
00:02:54.951 --> 00:02:58.094
At one point, they had even put in a request for hanging.
00:02:58.355 --> 00:03:07.169
But due to the fact that hanging is not a legal form of execution in Tennessee and has not been for over 100 years, that request wasn't even considered.
00:03:07.558 --> 00:03:14.640
Now, when she was first sentenced to death 30 years ago, Christa was given a choice between electrocution and lethal injection.
00:03:15.026 --> 00:03:20.472
But at the time, she did not have any medical conditions, and she selected the lethal injection.
00:03:20.919 --> 00:03:30.038
Christa has since been diagnosed with thrombocytosis, which causes high platelet levels and causes the blood to clot very easily.
00:03:30.307 --> 00:03:37.020
Along with this clotting condition, Pike has a history of compromised veins that could literally burst under pressure.
00:03:37.288 --> 00:03:44.170
Now, should that happen, any drugs meant to enter the blood intravenously would enter the surrounding tissue instead.
00:03:44.513 --> 00:03:56.985
The particular drugs used for lethal injection, when seeped into surrounding tissue, would cause a very painful chemical burn and could also have a negative effect on a person's lungs.
00:03:57.318 --> 00:04:00.425
So let's go back to the evening of the execution.
00:04:00.618 --> 00:04:05.139
At 6:41 PM, witnesses are allowed to enter the observation room.
00:04:05.854 --> 00:04:17.548
At 7:26 PM, the curtains are opened to the death chamber, and those in attendance could see Christa Pike strapped to the gurney with an IV line already placed in her right arm.
00:04:17.841 --> 00:04:32.350
Christa gave what she thought would be her last words when she said,"I just want to say that I'm going to leave this world the way I spent my life, and that is with love." Around 7:30 PM, the first dose of pentobarbital was administered.
00:04:33.168 --> 00:04:37.716
At 7:31, Christa tells staff that her arm hurts and asks if that's normal.
00:04:38.658 --> 00:04:56.447
At 7:34, she says,"It's really throbbing now, and it feels like it's gonna burst." At 7:46, by which time she would be expected to be unconscious, Christa starts to struggle and groan and make what appear to be snoring sounds, and the curtains are closed.
00:04:56.670 --> 00:05:04.901
At 7:49, the curtains are raised again, and a second dose of pentobarbital is administered to Christa, who continues to snore loudly.
00:05:05.151 --> 00:05:07.456
At 7:51, she appears to be choking.
00:05:07.954 --> 00:05:10.774
At 7:54, she lifts her head and grunts.
00:05:11.524 --> 00:05:17.494
At 7:56, her body arches completely, and her head and legs start to contort.
00:05:18.173 --> 00:05:22.836
And at 8:05, she starts to gasp for air, and the curtains are closed again.
00:05:23.189 --> 00:05:38.476
For the following 45-plus minutes, the
Load full transcript
observation room witnesses continue to hear gasps and snoring and sounds from Christa while her legal team file an emergency motion to halt the execution, and the execution is halted.
00:05:38.838 --> 00:05:45.196
By this time, Christa's arm is purple and blistered, and she is alive but unconscious and still making sounds.
00:05:45.485 --> 00:05:51.009
She is rushed to an undisclosed hospital in Nashville, where she is intubated and put on a ventilator.
00:05:51.428 --> 00:06:02.839
Medical professionals are now working to clear the pentobarbital from her system, treating the injuries to both arms, and are following her closely for signs of possible brain damage and organ failure.
00:06:03.160 --> 00:06:06.348
While she is hospitalized, she will be treated like any other patient.
00:06:06.889 --> 00:06:09.437
So now let's talk about the aftermath of all of this.
00:06:09.690 --> 00:06:16.629
The governor of Tennessee, Bill Lee, has now halted all executions scheduled for the rest of the year pending an investigation.
00:06:17.108 --> 00:06:23.149
That gives a temporary reprieve to Gary Wayne Sutton, whose execution was scheduled for December 3rd.
00:06:23.423 --> 00:06:28.050
The governor has also commissioned a third party to investigate what happened.
00:06:28.459 --> 00:06:32.348
Now, will they attempt to execute Christa Pike again once the ban is lifted?
00:06:32.865 --> 00:06:47.216
Well, Christa's attorneys argue that forcing her to undergo a second attempt violates her constitutional protection against cruel and unusual punishment, and they have petitioned Governor Lee to commute her sentence to life in prison as a result.
00:06:47.622 --> 00:06:58.822
Also, on Friday, October 2nd, Pike's defense team asked for all evidence, including needles and the IV tubes, to be preserved to investigate possible improper handling.
00:06:59.142 --> 00:07:02.206
Now, this is Tennessee's second failed execution this year.
00:07:02.346 --> 00:07:14.206
In May 2026, Tony Carruthers' execution also failed after an hour of trying to get a good IV line, and he remains paralyzed to this day on his right-hand side and in constant pain as a result.
00:07:14.557 --> 00:07:19.117
His sister is currently pursuing a medical malpractice and torture lawsuit.
00:07:19.271 --> 00:07:27.072
As a result of Christa Pike's failed execution on Wednesday, the Tennessee Department of Corrections Commissioner, Frank Strader, has resigned.
00:07:27.384 --> 00:07:33.553
He stated that it was in the best interest of Tennessee as the independent reviews move forward.
00:07:34.581 --> 00:07:41.379
Now, what about May Martinez, Colleen Slemmer's mother, who drove from Florida to witness the execution of her daughter's killer?
00:07:42.235 --> 00:07:54.031
Well, May and her husband arrived at the facility at 8:30 AM, expecting a 10:00 AM execution, and they were moved around various holding rooms until 8:00 PM, when they were then escorted out of the building.
00:07:54.132 --> 00:08:05.144
Martinez has expressed her anger and frustration to the media, calling the whole execution process a mess and demanding an apology from the state of Tennessee, which she is yet to receive.
00:08:05.362 --> 00:08:14.047
Now, whether you believe in the death penalty or not, I think we all understand that this family have waited 30 years for closure, and they have been denied it in the most harrowing way.
00:08:14.206 --> 00:08:22.557
But also, Christa has basic human rights, and if executions cannot be carried out without violating those, do they still even have a place in society?
00:08:22.963 --> 00:08:28.302
This is a sad story from start to current situation, and we don't even know what's to come yet.
00:08:28.750 --> 00:08:32.332
But for one, I think that this is just absolutely ridiculous.
00:08:32.712 --> 00:08:36.220
The whole system needs some kind of overhaul and needs to be brought up to date.
00:08:36.621 --> 00:08:37.455
What do you guys think?
00:08:38.203 --> 00:08:41.524
Until next time, be divas, not deadly.
00:08:42.275 --> 00:08:42.764
Bye.