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.