Skip to contentSwipe for next articleIndependent Bulletin homepageDownload our appAllNewsSportCultureLifestyleWant to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Membership today.Join todayAlready a member? Log inBrittney DonovanFriday 02 October 2026 20:11 BSTThe execution team worked for an hour to administer the lethal drugs, said Pike's defense lawyer who counted at least seven needles in her left arm (Tennessee Department of Correction)Christa Pike was unconscious and placed on a ventilator in the hospital after a botched execution attempt in Tennessee on Wednesday, according to court filings by her attorneys.Her lawyers said in the court documents that hospital staff were working to save Pike’s life and clear two doses of pentobarbital, the drug the state uses to execute prisoners, from her body.Pike’s attorneys believe problems with the IV lines caused the lethal drug to flow into her body instead of her bloodstream, writing, “Apparently at no point did any member of the execution team realize that the IV lines were not correctly placed or that the veins had blown and that the pentobarbital was, in whole or in part, entering Ms. Pike’s body.”Instead of “remedying this failure,” they prepared and administered a backup set of pentobarbital syringe, her lawyers said.State officials have not offered any explanation about what went wrong during the execution attempt.In fullChrista Pike latest: Satanic killer laughed and sang Buddhist chant during botched execution, witness saysMore bulletinsThank you for registeringPlease refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in