ABOUT THIS EPISODE
Christa Pike was scheduled to be executed in Tennessee on September 30, 2026, at 10 a.m. for the 1995 murder of Colleen Slemmer.
Nothing went as planned.
In what was a day filled with shocking turns and twists, we saw Pike’s execution stayed by a federal appeals court; her stay overturned by the Supreme Court; and two lethal injection doses of pentobarbital administered that were unsuccessful. It is believed Pike is the first person to ever have lethal injection drugs enter her system and survive. According to Pike’s attorneys today, she is currently in critical condition.
In the wake of the failed execution, Tennessee Governor Bill Lee halted all executions in the state for the rest of this year. Meanwhile, journalists who were allowed inside Riverbend Maximum Security Institution to witness the execution were stunned by what they saw; reportedly, Pike’s arm turned purple after the second round of drugs, with blistering and burning around the injection sites.
In this episode of Criminally Obsessed, investigative reporter Anne Emerson speaks with Abe Bonowitz, director and co-founder of Death Penalty Action, who was in downtown Nashville protesting Pike’s execution as the events unfolded. Bonowitz takes us through the extraordinary day — including the failed lethal injection at Riverbend.
Bonowitz discusses what he was hearing from the media witnesses inside the execution chamber, why he believes the lack of visibility into the process raises questions about transparency, and why Pike’s execution was different from previous failed executions. He also explains the role of Pike’s spiritual advisor, what happened after the curtains were closed, and the moment an ambulance arrived at the prison — something that immediately signaled to people outside that something had gone seriously wrong.
For more on this story, check out the Criminally Obsessed original documentary, Dead Woman Walking: Pike Vs. Tennessee.
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