What Christa Pike’s final words were meant to be before botched execution

Christa Pike had already prepared the words she expected to be her final message before Tennessee attempted to execute her by lethal injection.

But what should have been the last thing she ever said instead became the beginning of an extraordinary series of events, after the 50-year-old remained conscious and survived two doses of the drug intended to kill her.

Pike was due to be executed at Riverbend Maximum Security Institution in Nashville on Wednesday (30 Sept), more than 30 years after she was sentenced to death for the 1995 murder of 19-year-old fellow Job Corps student Colleen Slemmer.

According to AP, officials raised the curtains to the execution chamber at 7:27 pm yesterday revealing Pike - who was 18 when she was sentenced for the murder of fellow Job Corps student Slemmer - strapped to a gurney.

Slemmer had been a student at the Job Corps, alongside Pike (First Coast News/ABC)

The convicted killer was then permitted to make what were expected to be her final words, claiming she felt at peace with what was to come.

"I’m going to leave this world the way I spent most of my life," she uttered. "And that is with love."

As opposed to losing consciousness after the first round of lethal injection was administered, Pike remained awake during the procedure.

Witnesses later said she pointed towards her arm and complained that it felt as though it was going to burst, asking whether the sensation was supposed to happen.

Her spiritual adviser reportedly encouraged her to relax, to which Pike replied with laboured breath: "I’m trying."

According to witnesses, Pike continued to move and raise her head during the procedure, while officials attempted to carry out the execution.

A second dose of pentobarbital was eventually administered, but Pike still did not die.

Witnesses reported hearing her breathing and snoring from inside the chamber even after the second dose had been given.

Pike survived two rounds of lethal injection (BBC)

The microphone inside the execution chamber remained on for a period before it was eventually switched off and attendees were asked to leave.

It was then that Pike was taken from the prison by ambulance, with her lawyers telling press she was alive and had received medical treatment following the failed execution.

Pike's legal team had previously raised concerns before the execution about her health and the difficulty of accessing her veins.

They had argued that a rare blood disorder and problems with her veins could mean the lethal injection would not work as intended.

Those concerns were rejected before the execution was allowed to proceed, however.

Following the failed attempt, a medical expert retained by Pike's legal team said it was possible she had not reached a sufficiently high concentration of pentobarbital in her blood to cause the effects normally expected from the drug.

Pike was sentenced to death in 1996 (Tennessee Department of Corrections)

The Tennessee Department of Correction, however, said officials had followed the state's established execution protocol.

Tennessee's protocol provides for a second set of syringes if an inmate has not died following the first set. It does not clearly set out what should happen if a person remains alive after the second dose.

The botched execution has left significant questions over whether Tennessee can attempt to execute Pike again, and if so, what method could be used.

Her lawyers have moved to prevent another execution attempt and argued that she experienced unnecessary suffering during the procedure, with the state's Governor Bill Lee has ordered a third-party review into what happened.

Tennessee has also cancelled its remaining scheduled executions for the rest of 2026 while the review takes place.

It is not currently clear when, or how, another execution attempt against Pike could take place.