NASHVILLE, Tennessee â Christa Pike reportedly refused her final meal before Tennesseeâs failed attempt to execute her and asked that the $20 allocated for the food instead be used to buy pizza for homeless people, a striking new detail emerging as officials investigate why two doses of lethal-injection drugs failed to kill her.
Christa Pike Gave Last Meal Money To Buy Pizza For The Homeless https://t.co/ILneLQBlJI
— TMZ (@TMZ) October 3, 2026
Pike, 50, survived the September 30 execution attempt at Riverbend Maximum Security Institution and was transported to a hospital. Her attorneys said she remained unconscious, intubated and on a ventilator two days later, while Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee halted the stateâs remaining scheduled execution for 2026 and ordered a third-party review.
Pike reportedly gave up her $20 last meal
Before the execution, Pike was offered the opportunity to select a last meal. Instead, she reportedly asked that the $20 allowance be used to purchase pizza for homeless people.
The detail was reported October 3, adding a new element to a case that has shifted rapidly from a scheduled execution to a broader examination of Tennesseeâs lethal-injection procedures.
The request does not alter the crime for which Pike was sentenced to death, but it has become one of the most closely watched details surrounding the hours before the failed execution attempt.
Two doses of pentobarbital failed to execute Pike
Pike was scheduled to be executed by lethal injection on September 30. Tennessee uses pentobarbital in its execution protocol.
Witness accounts and subsequent reporting said Pike continued breathing after the first dose. A second dose was later administered, but she still did not die.
During the procedure, Pike reportedly complained of severe pain in her arm and said it felt as though her arm was going to burst. She later became unconscious.
The Tennessee Department of Correction confirmed that Pike was transported to an off-site medical facility after the attempt. The department said its team followed every step of the stateâs established execution protocol.
Seven needles and questions over IV access
A court filing from Pikeâs attorneys has raised serious questions about how intravenous access was established.
According to CBS News, her legal team said at least seven needles were used during attempts to place IV lines. One needle was allegedly bent at roughly a 90-degree angle when removed.
Her lawyers also said both arms appeared swollen, burned and blistered after she reached the hospital. They have asked the court to require preservation of evidence connected to the execution attempt.
Those allegations have not yet been established as the official cause of the failure.
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Doctors are examining more than one possible explanation
Dr. Joel Zivot, an anesthesiologist who examined Pike, has discussed several possible explanations.
One involves Pikeâs thrombocytosis, a condition involving elevated platelet levels. Zivot has said clotting could potentially have interfered with the circulation of pentobarbital.
Another possibility is that an IV stopped functioning correctly, allowing some of the drug to enter surrounding tissue rather than traveling through the bloodstream as intended.
Neither theory has been confirmed by Tennesseeâs review, meaning the exact reason Pike survived remains unresolved.
Pike reportedly remains critically ill
Pikeâs attorneys said October 2 that she was unconscious, critically ill, intubated and using a ventilator at a Nashville-area hospital.
They also raised concerns about possible neurological and other organ damage, though the full extent of her injuries has not been publicly established.
The execution followed an extraordinary legal battle. Swikblog previously reported on the Sixth Circuitâs last-minute stay of Christa Pikeâs execution before Tennessee was ultimately permitted to proceed.
Gov. Bill Lee halted Tennesseeâs next execution
Following the failed attempt, Lee canceled Tennesseeâs remaining scheduled execution for 2026 and ordered what he described as a comprehensive third-party review into exactly what occurred.
The review is expected to examine whether Pikeâs medical condition, IV access, drug delivery or execution procedures contributed to the failure.
The case has also renewed attention on execution procedures nationally and comes after Tennessee encountered IV-access problems during another planned execution earlier in 2026.
Pike was sentenced to death for Colleen Slemmerâs murder
Pike was sentenced to death in 1996 for the 1995 murder of 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer in Knoxville. Pike was 18 at the time of the killing.
She was convicted of first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit first-degree murder. Had the September 30 execution been completed, Pike would have been the first woman executed by Tennessee in roughly two centuries.
The legal scrutiny surrounding Pikeâs case comes amid continued attention on major U.S. criminal proceedings. Another recent case involves Ana Montanaâs felony drug charges and court proceedings, where the judicial process remains central to what happens next.
For Pike, the immediate questions are now focused on her medical condition, the independent review and whether Tennessee changes its lethal-injection procedures before executions resume.
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