NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WOKI / WVLT) – U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn is weighing in on Tennessee’s failed execution attempt of death row inmate Christa Gail Pike, calling for a full review of what occurred and urging the state to consider bringing back the electric chair as its primary execution method.
Blackburn’s comments came less than a day after Tennessee officials were unable to complete Pike’s execution at Riverbend Maximum Security Institution in Nashville.
In a public statement, Blackburn expressed frustration with the outcome and said the failed execution has extended the suffering of the victim’s family.
“This situation is tragic. Christa Pike should have been executed long ago,” Blackburn said. “Now, this botched process is extending the pain for the family of Colleen Slemmer. While there should be a thorough review of what happened and why the process failed, the answer is simple: bring back the electric chair and deliver justice for these victims swiftly. As your governor, I will do just that.”
Pike was scheduled to become the first woman executed in Tennessee in more than 200 years. Her execution proceeded Wednesday evening after the U.S. Supreme Court lifted a last-minute stay that had temporarily halted the process.
According to witness accounts and court filings, Pike received two doses of pentobarbital during the lethal injection process but remained alive afterward. Witnesses reported hearing Pike snore and continue breathing long after the drugs had been administered.
Pike was later transported by ambulance to Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville. As of Thursday, her attorneys said she remained alive but had not provided further information regarding her medical condition.
Defense attorneys sharply criticized Tennessee’s execution procedures following the failed attempt. In a statement, Pike’s legal team cited concerns involving difficult vein access, alleged problems with the administration of the drugs and what they described as the lack of emergency medical care available during the procedure.
The controversy has prompted renewed scrutiny of Tennessee’s death penalty system. Earlier Thursday, Bill Lee announced that all remaining executions scheduled for 2026 would be halted while the state conducts an independent third-party review of the execution process.
That review is expected to examine Tennessee’s lethal injection protocol, medical procedures, witness observations and the events that unfolded during Pike’s attempted execution.
Pike was convicted and sentenced to death in 1996 for the murder of 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer, a fellow student at the Knoxville Job Corps program. Prosecutors said Pike and two accomplices carried out the killing in 1995.
No decision has been announced regarding whether Tennessee will seek a new execution date for Pike after the investigation is completed.
