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Christa Pike was on a ventilator and unconscious after failed Tennessee execution, attorneys say

By AP via Scripps News Group Oct 2, 2026 | 11:54 AM

Christa Pike remained in a hospital where she was on a ventilator and unconscious after her failed execution in Tennessee, her attorneys said in a court filing Friday.

Hospital staff were working to save Pikes life and clear the pentobarbital she was administered from her system as of late Thursday, the attorneys said.

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Pike was given two doses of the drug in a failed attempt Wednesday to execute her.

In the court filing, Pikes attorneys said they believed problems with the IV lines caused the pentobarbital to flow into her body instead of her bloodstream.

Apparently at no point did any member of the execution team realize that the IV lines were not correctly placed or that the veins had blown and that the pentobarbital was, in whole or in part, entering Ms. Pikes body, they wrote.

They wrote that instead of remedying this failure prepared and administered a backup set of pentobarbital syringes.