Pike, now 50, was convicted for the 1995 murder of 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer, a classmate at a Knoxville job training facility. The execution was initially scheduled for 10 a.m. on September 30, local time, but was halted by a federal appeals court about an hour before it was set to begin. That stay was later cleared by the US Supreme Court, which on Tuesday had declined a request from Pike's attorneys to halt the execution. Tennessee Governor Bill Lee had also denied clemency on Monday.
After the Supreme Court ruling, the execution proceeded in the evening. Witnesses, including Associated Press journalist Kim Chandler, reported that Pike appeared "noticeably awake" as the lethal injection began. The curtain to the execution chamber was drawn and reopened multiple times. According to Chandler, the blinds closed for the first time at 7:46 p.m., opened at 7:49 p.m., then closed for the final time at 8:06 p.m. Throughout, Pike was heard loudly snoring, gasping, and remained clearly alive. Media witnesses were told to leave the area at about 8:53 p.m., with Pike still audibly snoring in the chamber.
The legal team for Pike has stated she is still alive more than an hour after the execution drug was administered. Emergency service teams were seen outside the prison and reportedly left the area with lights and sirens blaring. Multiple witnesses told media that "nothing we saw was normal" and noted the process was "abnormally long." Prison officials have not yet spoken publicly.
Pike does not deny committing the killing. Her supporters argue that her age at the time (18), mental illness, and a history of severe sexual abuse—including being raped from toddlerhood—should have been considered at sentencing. Assistant Federal Defender Stephen Ferrell said Pike's death sentence is an outlier because other 18-year-olds sentenced to death in Tennessee have had their sentences vacated. The federal appeals court had sought to review whether those allegations were fully considered at her original sentencing.
The victim's mother, May Martinez, told media she wanted the execution to go forward, saying she has waited decades to see Pike's sentence carried out.
It is not immediately clear whether Tennessee's attorney general will appeal the court's earlier stay, or how long the execution might be delayed.