What did Christa Pike do to Colleen Slemmer? Inside the 1995 murder case and death sentence

Tennessee officials were unable to execute Christa Pike on Wednesday after administering two doses of a lethal drug. The 1995 murder conviction, which would have made Pike the first woman executed in Tennessee in more than 200 years, was halted due to an appeals court's stay. Her lawyers reported that Pike remained alive and snoring after the attempted lethal injection, and was eventually taken from the prison by ambulance.

Pike's lawyers criticized the execution protocol, citing difficulties in accessing veins, degraded pentobarbital, and a lack of emergency medical care. The US Supreme Court had earlier overturned a stay issued by the 6th Circuit US Court of Appeals, which sought to consider allegations of childhood sexual abuse during sentencing.

This marks the second failed execution in Tennessee this year, following the cancellation of Tony Carruthers' lethal injection in May due to difficulties placing an IV. Since 1976, only 18 women have been executed in the US, accounting for about 1% of all executions.