'They Went to Try to Execute Her, and She Didn't Die': Colleen Slemmer's Mother Reacts After Christa Pike's Failed Execution

May Martinez, the mother of murdered teenager Colleen Slemmer, criticised Tennessee officials after her daughter's killer, Christa Pike, survived an attempted execution on Wednesday 30 September. 'They went to try to execute her, and she didn't die,' Martinez told NBC News.

Pike, 50, remained alive after receiving two doses of pentobarbital at Riverbend Maximum Security Institution in Nashville, according to her lawyers, and was taken to hospital. Governor Bill Lee ordered a 'comprehensive, third-party review' and halted the state's remaining scheduled executions for 2026.

Martinez Criticises Tennessee Officials

Martinez had travelled to Tennessee to witness the execution, more than 30 years after her daughter's murder. Instead, she learned that the attempt had failed and Pike was being transferred to hospital.

Martinez told news outlets that Pike had not expressed remorse during the attempted execution. Pike's lawyers have argued that jurors never heard the full history of childhood sexual abuse and neglect that they say should have been considered when determining her sentence.

Pike would have been the first woman executed in Tennessee in more than 200 years. The failed attempt was the state's second this year and prompted renewed scrutiny of its lethal-injection procedure.

Witnesses Describe Breathing and Snoring

John North, an investigative producer with WBIR who witnessed the attempted execution, said the blinds were lowered at points during the procedure, leaving witnesses with 'a lot of questions about what we saw and what we did not see'. Will Puckett of WVLT, another media witness, said Pike lifted her head and opened her mouth before the snoring resumed.

Witnesses said Pike said her arm felt like it was 'about to burst open' before she began snoring loudly. Media witnesses were escorted out at 8.53pm while she was still snoring.

Tori Gessner, a WKRN reporter who witnessed the attempt, said: 'Nothing about today was normal, typical, at all.'

Pike's lawyers subsequently said in an emergency filing that she was 'still alive and snoring'. The observations established that she was breathing, but did not provide a medical assessment of her condition.

Social-Media Users Debate Failed Execution

Social-media users questioned Pike's survival and debated the failed execution. On X, @notyourboyizzy wrote: 'Don't pity her now. She's a monster!' Another comment described her survival as a 'bigger punishment'.

Another user, @WestonMantooth, questioned why Pike had been taken to hospital and urged people to read about the murder before reacting.

The posts reflected individual responses to the case, rather than a measure of wider public opinion.

Governor Orders Independent Review

Lee ordered an independent review to determine what happened during the attempted execution. The Tennessee Department of Correction said it had followed every step of the state's execution protocol.

The state had not announced whether it would seek another execution date for Pike. Her existing death sentence remained in place.

The earlier failed attempt involved Tony Carruthers, who was convicted of kidnapping and murdering three people. His execution on 21 May was called off after staff established a primary intravenous line but could not establish the required backup line or successfully insert a central line.

Pike's lawyers sought emergency court intervention after the failed attempt.

The Murder and Court Challenges

Pike was convicted of murdering Slemmer, a 19-year-old Job Corps student, in 1995 and sentenced to death the following year. She was 18 when she and her then-boyfriend, Tadaryl Shipp, lured Slemmer to woods near the University of Tennessee's agricultural campus. Slemmer was attacked with a box cutter and a piece of asphalt, and Pike kept a fragment of her skull.

Shipp, who was 17 at the time, received a life sentence. A third participant, Shadolla Peterson, acted as a lookout, pleaded guilty as an accessory and received six years of probation.

A federal appeals court stayed Pike's execution on Wednesday morning in a 2–1 decision while it considered her claims concerning childhood abuse. The US Supreme Court vacated the stay on Wednesday evening, allowing the execution to proceed.

As of early Thursday, Pike's lawyers said they had not been informed of her condition. Lee's review will examine the failed procedure, while any renewed attempt to carry out her sentence remains unresolved.