By TMZ | Created at 2026-10-01 18:59:41 | Updated at 2026-10-01 22:20:00
4 hours ago
Christa Pike Lawyers Want Death Sentence Commuted
Published October 1, 2026 10:52 AM PDT | Updated October 1, 2026 11:54 AM PDT
Christa Pike's attorneys are calling on Tennessee to commute her death sentence after her failed execution ... saying Pike was actually helping the execution team try to place her IV lines.
Randy Spivey and Stephen Ferrell both urged the state to take another execution attempt off the table Thursday ... arguing Pike had already endured a cruel and traumatic ordeal.
Spivey said Pike remained "kind, cooperative and at peace" as workers struggled to establish access ... even telling them to try higher up toward her shoulder and thanking them when they thought they'd gotten a line.
He said he counted at least 7 needle sticks in Pike's left arm alone, and claimed one appeared bent. He also said her right arm began turning purple after the second round of chemicals.
Ferrell said Pike had feared for months the execution would unfold this way because of her history of difficult blood draws ... and argued the state ignored repeated warnings from her legal team.
The attorneys say they still can't confirm whether the lethal injection drug actually entered her bloodstream ... and they were told there is blistering and burning around the injection sites.
Spivey said her biggest fear was a prolonged, painful death ... adding, "that's what happened minus the death" ... and they mentioned Pike kept expressing concern for the family of Colleen Slemmer, the woman she was convicted of killing.
As TMZ reported, Pike remains hospitalized in critical condition and is unconscious, though her lawyer stressed she's not in a coma.
The failed execution was Tennessee's second this year. In May, the same official, Dr. Mark Fowler, was unable to execute Tony Carruthers after struggling for more than an hour to establish the necessary IV access.
Pike's execution warrant expired at midnight, meaning the Tennessee Supreme Court would have to set another date before the state could try again. Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee has since paused executions for the rest of 2026 and ordered a third-party review of what went wrong.
Pike's attorneys say a review isn't enough ... they want her death sentence commuted so the state never gets another chance to try again.
