Christa Pike's Final Hours: Death Row Woman Refuses Last Meal, Says 'Not Afraid To Die'

Christa Pike declined to choose a last meal and said she was 'not afraid to die' before Tennessee attempted to execute her on 30 September. But the expected final hours of the 50-year-old death row inmate took an extraordinary turn when officials were unable to complete the lethal-injection procedure.

Pike had been scheduled to become the first woman executed by Tennessee in at least 200 years. Instead, the execution was halted after witnesses reported that she appeared to receive two doses of pentobarbital and could be heard audibly snoring.

Christa Pike Said She Was Not Afraid To Die

Ahead of the scheduled execution, Pike declined to select a special last meal, according to the Tennessee Department of Correction. Tennessee generally allows death-row inmates to choose a special meal within set parameters, making her decision notable.

In a letter written before Gov. Bill Lee denied her clemency request, Pike said she was at peace regardless of whether the petition was granted.

'I am not afraid to die. I am only nervous about the process.'

Her statement was made as she faced execution for the 1995 killing of 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer.

Execution Attempt Took an Unexpected Turn

The execution was initially halted on 30 September when the US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit issued a stay shortly before the lethal injection was due to begin. The US Supreme Court later vacated that stay, clearing the way for Tennessee to proceed.

Tennessee then proceeded with the execution attempt at Riverbend Maximum Security Institution in Nashville.

According to The Associated Press, officials appeared to give Pike two doses of pentobarbital. Witnesses later heard her loudly snoring. The prison curtain was closed at 7:46pm, reopened three minutes later and closed again at 8:06pm.

The lethal-injection process was ultimately not completed. Pike's lawyers filed emergency motions alleging that she had experienced 'unnecessary agony' and sought intervention on her behalf.

The Final Hours Followed a Last-Minute Court Fight

Pike's lawyers had challenged the execution on several grounds, including claims involving her history of childhood sexual abuse and mental illness. The Sixth Circuit's stay was issued to allow those issues to be considered before the Supreme Court vacated it.

Gov. Bill Lee had also declined to grant Pike clemency before the scheduled execution, leaving the death sentence in place.

The rapid sequence of court decisions meant Pike's execution remained uncertain until shortly before Tennessee proceeded with the execution attempt.

Why Christa Pike Was on Death Row

Pike was 18 when she killed 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer in 1995, and she was convicted in 1996. The two were classmates at a Job Corps training facility in Knoxville.

Pike was sentenced to death, while her boyfriend, Tadaryl Shipp, who was 17 at the time, received life in prison with the possibility of parole. Pike was the only person in the case sentenced to death.

She subsequently spent decades on Tennessee's death row and remained the state's only woman facing execution.

Pike Remains Alive After Failed Execution

Tennessee ultimately failed to complete the execution, leaving Pike alive after the attempted lethal injection. Her lawyers' emergency filings focused on what they alleged happened during the procedure.

The failed attempt came after another Tennessee execution was abandoned earlier in 2026 when officials were unable to establish IV access, adding further context to the state's latest unsuccessful procedure.