Execution of woman in U.S. reportedly fails, death row convict taken to hospital

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Updated – October 01, 2026 10:50 am IST – Washington, United States

Media witnesses recount the moments before the execution of Christa Pike was halted on September 30, 2026, in Nashville, Tennessee, U.S.
| Photo Credit: AP

The execution of a woman in Tennessee, U.S., on Wednesday (September 30, 2026) seemed to have failed, with witnesses and Christa Pike's attorney telling local media the convicted murderer was still breathing and audibly snoring after being given lethal injection.

"It appears this did not go how this was supposed to go," said investigative journalist John North of WBIR who was a witness at the execution site, adding "when we left the building, so far as we knew, she was probably still alive."

Pike was in a hospital on Thursday (October 1) after authorities “failed” to carry out her execution, her lawyers said.

File picture of death row inmate Christa Pike entering a Knox County Criminal Court in Knoxville, Tennessee
| Photo Credit:
via Reuters

Just hours earlier, the U.S. Supreme Court cleared the way for Pike to be the first woman to die by lethal injection in the southern US state of Tennessee in 200 years.

“Tonight the State of Tennessee once again failed to carry out a lawful execution,” Pike’s attorneys said in a statement. “Christa is being treated at a nearby hospital. We have not been informed as to her condition.”

Pike was scheduled for execution at 10:00 a.m. at the Riverbend Maximum Security Institution, where witnesses, including journalists, were present for the administration of the injections.

WVLT television reported that Pike's attorney was filing an emergency stay to halt the execution and "immediately begin life-saving measures."

Her attorneys told the news station "this has turned into agony and a violation of Pike's right to be executed free of cruel and unusual punishment."

Seven journalists who were in the room to witness the execution said afterward, on a livestream hosted by WVLT television station, that the 50-year-old was singing and moving at times, complained of pain in her arm after the injection, and was clearly alive and snoring before corrections officials escorted journalists out.

"We just listened, as they said, to her snoring and making very loud breathing sounds for almost an hour", said Catherine Sweeney of WPLN television.

Steven Hale from the Nashville Banner, a local news site, added "whatever just happened happened behind a closed curtain when Christa Pike was still alive. We could still hear her breathing, but we could not see what was going on."

During the livestream, an ambulance with its lights flashing could be seen leaving the site of the execution, it's unclear if it was transporting Pike.

Published – October 01, 2026 10:49 am IST

USA

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death penalty policies

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Fonte: The Hindu – International