Christa Pike's execution in Tennessee came three decades after she was convicted of first-degree murder for killing 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer in 1995. Pike was scheduled to be put to death via lethal injection on 30 September, becoming the first woman to be executed in the state in more than 200 years.
However, the procedure was halted after Pike remained alive despite receiving two doses of pentobarbital. Pike had previously described the possibility of a botched execution as 'her absolute worst nightmare.'
