Christa Pike Back in Prison, Sends Message Following Failed Execution

After nearly three decades on death row, Christa Pike is back behind bars and reportedly reaching out with a short message of her own.

Pike survived two attempts to execute her by lethal injection on September 30 in Tennessee. She had been sentenced to death in 1996 for the murder of Colleen Slemmer when she was just 18 years old, making her the youngest woman to receive a death sentence in the modern era of American capital punishment.

On the night of the scheduled execution, which would have been the first time Tennessee put a woman to death in more than 200 years, prison staff administered two doses of pentobarbital. Pike remained alive. Witnesses later said she was still breathing and even snoring. She was rushed to a hospital and spent roughly a week on a ventilator.

Her legal team announced on October 7 that she had regained consciousness and was speaking. They described her physical recovery as remarkable in some ways, noting clear lungs and a return to a regular diet, but they also said she continues to deal with cognitive problems involving concentration and memory. They added that she is experiencing profound psychological trauma from surviving the failed execution, including the terror of believing she was about to die.

Pike was later discharged from the hospital and returned to the Deborah K. Johnson Rehabilitation Center in Nashville, the facility where she has been housed for more than 30 years. Her lawyers said she is grateful to the first responders and medical team and that she continues to receive care at the prison.

According to NewsNation senior national correspondent Brian Entin, Pike used a tablet to send a message to someone outside the prison. A source close to her shared a photo of the screen showing the text, which was delivered at 12:14 a.m. Saturday. The nine-word message read: “I’m at the prison. I love you so much!”