President Donald Trump has said carrying out a lethal injection “shouldn’t be very difficult” in his first public comments on the botched execution of Tennessee death row prisoner Christa Pike.
Pike, 50, remains alive but in a critical condition, her lawyer Randy Spivey said Thursday, after she survived two doses of pentobarbital during an attempt to execute her at a Nashville maximum security prison Wednesday evening.
She was due to be the first woman put to death in the state in 206 years for the brutal, “Satanic” 1995 murder of Knoxville classmate Colleen Slemmer, after a court overturned a late stay of execution. Experts say her survival is unprecedented.
Trump dubbed it an “interesting situation” when asked whether he would push for changes to capital punishment.
Pike was receiving “life-saving medical care” after her execution team went through at least seven needles while trying to find a vein in Pike’s arms to administer the lethal dose of the injection for her execution, Spivey said.
Her legal team has called the botched execution “chemical torture” while Amnesty USA and the United Nations commissioner on human rights called it “cruel.”
Read MoreWhat could happen to Christa Pike now after death row killer survives two lethal injections
Mother of Christa Pike’s victim says she wanted to finish killer off herself after botched execution
Christa Pike’s botched execution is an abomination that shames us all
How executions have risen under Trump despite wave of states abolishing death penalty
Key Points
- Donald Trump says executing death row inmates 'shouldn't be difficult'
- Christa Pike rushed to Tennessee hospital after surviving two lethal injections
- At least seven needles used as staff struggled to find vein for execution
- Mother of Pike’s victim says she wanted to finish killer off herself
- Authorities attacked over botched execution: 'How do they sleep at night?'
Colleen Slemmer’s mother reacts to Pike’s survival
12:00 , Joe SommerladHere’s more on May Martinez’s response to Wednesday’s debacle, an event she had been waiting for for more than 30 years.
Mother of Christa Pike’s victim says she wanted to finish killer off herself
Tennessee governor questioned over corrections commissioner hiring
11:30 , Joe SommerladBill Lee has suspended the state’s one remaining execution planned for this year, that of convicted killer Gary Wayne Sutton on December 3 and ordered an independent review.
On Thursday, he was facing questions about his decision to hire Corrections Commissioner Frank Strada, who encountered problems with lethal injections while occupying a similar role in Arizona.
Republican Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee faced questions Thursday about his decision to hire Corrections Commissioner Frank Strada following the failed execution of Christa Pike. Strada also held a leadership role in Arizona’s corrections system when the state carried out three… pic.twitter.com/TgtHBtyq9n
— CBS News (@CBSNews) October 1, 2026
Conservatives call for return of firing squad after botched injection
11:00 , Joe SommerladA number of right-wing talking heads took to the cable news channels yesterday to suggest the return of the firing squad as the only sure way of delivering an error-free execution.
John Yoo on Christa Pike, who survived a botched execution: "Why not use the firing squad? So I think what's gonna have to happen is Tennessee is gonna have to go back and try again." pic.twitter.com/2I3dcJHdEK
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) October 1, 2026
Katie Pavlich was not expecting this answer from Rep. Tim Burchett when she asked what Tennessee should do after botching the execution of Christa Pike.
— Overton (@overton_news) October 2, 2026
It was blunt, but it needed to be said.
Pike survived TWO attempts at lethal injection this week after being convicted in… pic.twitter.com/nIwjk0iG5l
"There was a 7% botch rate for lethal injections, compared to 0% for firing squads."@KayleeDMcGhee points to the reported botched-execution rate for lethal injection as she unloads on Tennessee's failed execution of Christa Pike and questions whether the country has become too… pic.twitter.com/ae39391ist
— Fox News (@FoxNews) October 1, 2026
Or, in the case of Tennessee Republican gubernatorial candidate Marsha Blackburn, the electric chair.
The answer is simple: Bring back the electric chair. pic.twitter.com/w1aOcKYC0r
— Marsha Blackburn (@VoteMarsha) October 1, 2026
Inside the ‘Satanic panic’ teen murder that put Pike on death row for 30 years
10:30 , Joe SommerladHere’s an overview of Christa Pike’s story, from the gruesome murder that led to her being sentenced to death to her defense attorneys’ arguments for a more lenient sentence.
Inside ‘Satanic panic’ teen murder that put Christa Pike on death row for 30 years
What will happen to Christa Pike now?
10:00 , Joe SommerladPike’s lawyers have said she remains in a “critical condition” in hospital so much remains unclear about what precisely will happen next but, assuming she survives, the state of Tennessee could attempt to execute her for a second time at a later date.
While the Eighth Amendment to the Constitution bars cruel and unusual punishment, there is no automatic legal mechanism to shield a prisoner from a second attempt to carry out their sentence simply because the first failed, so long as investigators are satisfied that the proper procedure was followed and the subject’s rights were not impeded.
Inmates who survive the death penalty remain convicted felons sentenced to capital punishment and under state custody, their circumstances unchanged despite the advent of a technical fault.
Here’s more.
What could happen to Christa Pike now after killer survives two lethal injections
Mother of Pike’s victim says she wanted to finish killer off herself
09:30 , Joe SommerladThe mother of the woman murdered by Christa Pike has spoken of her frustration at the killer’s botched execution and admitted: “I want to go kill Christa. How’s that?”
An understandably distressed May Martinez – who was in the witness room with her husband, Raul Martinez Jr, expecting to see justice served on behalf of her daughter, Colleen Slemmer, 31 years after her slaying – has since told People: “If I could have gotten in that room, I would have taken the box cutter and cut her up like she did Colleen.”
Here she is leaving Riverbend Maximum Security Institution Wednesday.
Comment: Christa Pike’s botched execution is an abomination that shames us all
09:00 , Joe SommerladNo civilised society should be treating human beings like cattle, writes Victoria Richards.
Christa Pike’s botched execution is an abomination that shames us all
How the botched execution of Christa Pike unfolded, by someone in the room
08:30 , Shweta SharmaChrista Pike was scheduled to be executed. But after two injections, she kept breathing. She made snoring sounds, she talked, she said her arm was hurting.
Doctors are now trying to save her life.
She was critically ill and receiving "life-saving medical care" in a Nashville hospital on Thursday hours after she survived two attempts by Tennessee to execute her with lethal injections, her lawyers said, renewing scrutiny of capital punishment in the US.
Pike, 50, was sentenced to death in the 1990s after being convicted of a murder she carried out as a teenager.
How the botched execution of Christa Pike unfolded, by someone in the room
Christa Pike’s life in picture
08:00 , Shweta Sharma
Pike was sentenced to death for 1995 murder of classmate
07:30 , Shweta SharmaChrista Pike was sentenced to death for the 1995 killing of her 19-year-old Knoxville Job Corps classmate Colleen Slemmer.
Prosecutors said Pike, who feared Slemmer was a romantic rival, lured her to a secluded area where she and her boyfriend attacked her with a box cutter and a large piece of asphalt.
Pike’s lawyers argued that her death sentence was unfair because she was 18 at the time and jurors were not told about the sexual abuse she said she had suffered from childhood.
Pike's attorneys have said she experienced an exceptionally traumatic and abusive childhood.
Assistant Federal Defender Stephen Ferrell said Pike was sexually abused starting from when she was a toddler and that she was raped at ages 11 and 17.
Slemmer’s mother, May Martinez, witnessed Wednesday’s failed execution attempt and said her daughter had not received justice.
“I watched the whole thing. She was awake. She was laughing. She was moving her head, moving her feet. She was trying to sit up,” she said.
Pike’s then-boyfriend, Tadaryl Shipp, admitted carving a pentagram into Slemmer’s body. He was 17 at the time and was sentenced to life with the possibility of parole.
Trump says executing death row inmates 'shouldn't be difficult' on Christa Pike case
07:11 , Shweta SharmaDonald Trump has responded to the botched execution of Christa Pike, calling it an “interesting situation”.
Asked by reporters whether he would push for changes to capital punishment following the failed execution in Tennessee, the US president said the matter was for state authorities.
“Well, that was an interesting situation, but you’re going to have to speak to Tennessee about it, whether or not they’re going to go forward,” Mr Trump said.
He turned to his aides, asking: “You know what that was about. That was an execution where the medication didn’t exactly work.”
Mr Trump then turned to Republican congressman Ronny Jackson, a physician who previously served as his White House doctor, and asked: “How does that happen? He’s a great doctor.”
Mr Jackson replied: “I don’t know how that happens. It should be easy to do.”
“It shouldn’t be very difficult,” Mr Trump added.
⚡️ “Interesting situation”: Trump comments on Christa Pike’s failed execution
— NEXTA (@nexta_tv) October 2, 2026
“There was an execution, and the drug didn’t quite work,” the U.S. president said, adding that the procedure “shouldn’t be that complicated.”
Meanwhile, Christa Pike, who survived the failed lethal… https://t.co/9o8p5jxKIf pic.twitter.com/rPZ0DT9iT6
Tennessee has faced previous problems with executions
07:00 , Shweta SharmaIt is not the first time Tennessee governor Bill Lee has ordered an investigation into the state’s use of capital punishment.
An independent review four years ago found that Tennessee had failed to follow its own execution protocols and properly test lethal injection drugs. The investigation followed an execution that was halted in April 2022 over the mishandling of drugs.
In May, Tennessee also stopped the execution of Tony Carruthers after medical workers were unable to establish a second IV line despite attempts using his arm, hand and foot, as well as a central line.
Lee subsequently ordered officials to wait at least a year before attempting to execute Carruthers again.
I met Christa Pike on death row. As she survives her execution – what now?
06:39 , Shweta Sharma
I interviewed Christa Pike on death row. As she survives her execution – what now?
At least seven needles used as staff struggled to find vein for execution
06:00 , Shweta SharmaThe execution team went through at least seven needles while trying to find a vein in Christa Pike’s arms to administer the lethal dose of the injection for her execution, her lawyers said.
Her lawyer Randy Spivey said one of the needles that was pulled out from her arm after an unsuccessful attempt was bent.
Medical experts said there were signs that the two intravenous catheters may have allowed the drug to leak into tissue around the insertion sites instead of delivering it directly into Pike’s bloodstream.
They said this could have been caused by the placement of the catheters, the fragility of Pike’s veins or another factor.
Her lawyers said doctors had previously struggled to find veins during blood draws and that Pike has a blood disorder that makes the problem worse.
During the execution attempt, her lawyers said she even tried to help the staff place the two IV lines.
“She over and over again said, ‘Please, try up on my shoulder higher, please try here, please try here,’” Spivey said.
Timeline of Pike's botched execution
05:30 , Shweta Sharma7.27pm: Christa Pike was strapped to a gurney with an IV in her arm as her scheduled execution began. She said: “I’m ready to be free. This is a happy day.”
7.37pm: Pike remained conscious and complained that her arm was hurting, asking a prison official whether it was supposed to feel that way.
7.46pm: Officials closed the curtain to the execution chamber before reopening it three minutes later, with Pike still alive.
7.56pm: Pike appeared to lose consciousness and began making sounds resembling snoring, but continued breathing and briefly lifted her head.
8.06pm: Officials closed the curtain again, but witnesses continued to hear Pike breathing from behind it.
8.22pm: Pike’s attorney Randy Spivey said he demanded that the execution be halted and that she receive life-saving medical care.
8.50pm: Spivey said he received confirmation that an ambulance was on its way to the prison.
8.53pm: Witnesses were ordered to leave the execution area and members of the media were escorted out.
9.14pm: Ambulances and fire trucks arrived outside the prison. Pike was later taken to hospital after surviving two doses of pentobarbital.
What to know about Christa Pike's co-defendant
04:30 , Jasmine FernándezTadaryl Shipp remains in prison for his role in the 1995 murder of Colleen Slemmer. Shipp, who was 17 at the time of the crime, is serving a life sentence at the Northwest Correctional Complex in Tiptonville, Tennessee. Because he was a juvenile when the murder occurred, he was legally ineligible for the death penalty.
The Tennessee Board of Parole denied Shipp parole in October 2025 due to the severity of the offense. Having been incarcerated since January 1995, his next parole review is scheduled for October 2031.
Has an inmate ever survived a state execution attempt before?
04:00 , Jasmine FernándezYes, but it is extremely rare. Only a handful of death row inmates in U.S. history have survived an attempted execution, typically when corrections teams called off the procedure after failing to secure a usable vein for lethal injection.
Notable cases include Ohio inmate Romell Broom in 2009 and Alabama inmate Kenneth Smith in 2022.
Who was the other inmate scheduled to die by execution in Tennessee this year?
02:00 , Jasmine FernándezGary Wayne Sutton was the only other death row inmate scheduled for execution in Tennessee in 2026. He had been set to die by lethal injection on December 3.
Sutton was convicted in the 1992 killings of siblings Tommy Griffin and Connie Branam, receiving a life sentence for Branam’s murder and a death sentence for Griffin’s. Sutton, who has spent nearly 30 years on death row, has maintained his innocence.
However, his execution — and all remaining executions in the state — has been put on hold by Gov. Bill Lee following Wednesday’s botched execution attempt of Christa Pike. Sutton will remain on death row while the state conducts an independent review of its lethal injection procedures.
Tennessee state representative slams lack of transparency after failed execution
01:21 , Jasmine FernándezTennessee state Representative Jody Barrett expressed frustration over the lack of transparency surrounding the state’s execution protocol.
Barrett, a Republican who has voiced growing displeasure with state officials, called the outcome “devastating” for victim Colleen Slemmer’s family.
“All we’ve done is pick the scab off of their wound and pour salt in it,” Barrett told The New York Times.
Christa Pike likely 'blew' a vein, which made the drugs simply burn her arm, says Dr. Joel Zivot, Professor of anesthesiology
Thursday 1 October 2026 23:38 , Jasmine FernándezDr. Joel Zivot, an anesthesiology professor and medical expert in the case, suggested Pike likely suffered a “blown” vein during her botched execution, causing the lethal injection chemicals to leak into surrounding tissue rather than enter her bloodstream.
“It was heard that she was breathing in a kind of unnatural way,” Zivot told the Associated Press. “I believe that she did not just naturally fall off to sleep, no one is suggesting that. So there was some degree of, kind of, chemical-induced stupor, but she continued to breathe while under the influence of that.”
Zivot stressed that execution should never be confused with actual medicine.
“Execution is never a medical act,” he said. “It’s made to look and feel like one, so all these kinds of safety features that people are speculating over ... that’s because this is not a hospital. There’s no practice of medicine here.”
Christa Pike’s lawyers make yet another plea to spare her life after botched execution
Thursday 1 October 2026 22:33 , Jasmine FernándezIn addition to sharing new, disturbing details about the failed execution, Pike’s lawyers once again called on Gov. Lee for a commutation — a request he previously denied.
Lee has ordered an independent review of the state's lethal injection protocol and paused all remaining scheduled executions for the rest of the year — at least for now.
Christa Pike's lawyers hope she recovers: 'This kind of thing should never happen again'
Thursday 1 October 2026 19:36 , Isabel KeaneLawyers for Christa Pike said they would figure out their next steps once she recovers.
"This is awful. This kind of thing should never happen again,” one of her lawyers said during a Thursday press conference.
Lawyers suspect the lethal injection drugs were going into Christa Pike's tissue, not her veins
Thursday 1 October 2026 19:34 , Isabel KeaneChrista Pike’s lawyers said Thursday they suspect the lethal injection drugs were going into her tissue, not her veins, due to a medical condition.
Pike, 50, has small veins and a blood disorder called thrombocytosis, her lawyers have said.
Christa Pike still spoke coherently after the first round of lethal drugs
Thursday 1 October 2026 19:32 , Isabel KeaneChrista Pike was still speaking coherently after the first round of lethal injection drugs, her lawyers said Thursday.
She was taken to the hospital after surviving two rounds of lethal injections.
Christa Pike in critical condition after receiving life-saving care
Thursday 1 October 2026 19:27 , Isabel KeaneChrista Pike is currently in critical condition after receiving life-saving care following her failed execution on Wednesday, her lawyer said during a Thursday press conference.
Pike’s “right arm turned purple after the second round of chemicals put into her body,” her lawyer said.
Her lawyers said they don’t know what happened between the time the curtain was closed after the second attempt and the ambulance arrived. It was unclear if she received any life-saving care in the execution room.
Her lawyers said they have not spoken to her or seen her in the hospital.
Christa Pike still alive one day after failed execution
Thursday 1 October 2026 19:09 , Isabel KeaneAn attorney for Christa Pike said Thursday that she is still alive, one day after Tennessee’s failed attempt to execute her by lethal injection.
Pike requested to be hanged, fearing too many issues with the state's current execution method
Thursday 1 October 2026 19:06 , Isabel KeaneChrista Pike’s legal team argued for an alternative method to put her to death instead of lethal injection — proposing she be hanged instead, according to a report.
A month before her botched execution Wednesday, attorneys for Pike argued that her small veins and her blood disorder, thrombocytosis, would cause her needless suffering, The Tennessean reported.
Her attorneys proposed hanging her or a line in the jugular vein of her neck, rather than her arm.
Start with the central line," attorney Stephen Ferrell said. "It makes the execution less torturous. It is available and easily implemented ... It would lessen the pain and suffering."
Her legal team also argued that hanging would cause death more quickly with less suffering.
However, both requests were denied.
In response to the requests, the state argued that Tennessee stopped the practice of hanging death row inmates over 100 years ago, and that the central-line method also had its own risks.
"Hanging is an unpredictable way of causing death," said Assistant Attorney General for the State of Tennessee Will Ayers. "It's not easy to do right. There is no evidence that Tennessee has the materials or expertise to carry out a hanging."
Democratic nominee for Tennessee governor says she would stop all executions
Thursday 1 October 2026 18:20 , Isabel KeaneJerri Green, the Democratic nominee for governor in Tennessee, said she would stop all executions.
“If we say we are pro-life, that means we must be anti-death penalty,” she said in a statement.
Meanwhile, her opponent, Sen. Marsha Blackburn, a Republican, called for the return of the electric chair.
“This situation is tragic. Christa Pike should have been executed long ago,” Blackburn said in a statement.
“Now, this botched process is extending the pain for the family of Colleen Slemmer. While there should be a thorough review of what happened and why the process failed, the answer is simple: bring back the electric chair and deliver justice for these victims swiftly.”
Tennesseee Gov 'highly disappointed' by failed execution
Thursday 1 October 2026 17:50 , Isabel KeaneTennessee Gov. Bill Lee said he “was highly disappointed” in the failed execution of Christa Pike.
He said Pike is covered by his order staying executions.
“We should find out what happened and make those changes necessary to do what the people of this state want done,” he said.
It was not immediately clear who would conduct the review of the state’s execution procedures.
Colleen Slemmer's mother calls botched execution 'a mess'
Thursday 1 October 2026 17:22 , Isabel KeaneThe mother of Colleen Slemmer — who was killed by Christa Pike in 1995 — shared her initial reaction to Pike’s failed execution.
“It was a mess,” May Martinez told NBC News on Thursday.
Martinez previously told the Associated Press that she had waited decades to see Pike’s execution carried out.
“Every time I think about it, I think about Colleen feeling that pain and trying to get up and run,” she said before the execution was halted Wednesday night.
Press conference interrupted by arrival of first responders
Thursday 1 October 2026 14:34 , Isabel KeaneA press conference following the attempted execution of Christa Pike Wednesday night was interrupted by the arrival of an ambulance and fire truck, video shared by CBS News shows.
A press conference following the attempted execution of Christa Pike in Tennessee was interrupted by the arrival of an ambulance and firetruck behind the speakers.
— CBS News (@CBSNews) October 1, 2026
Witnesses to the attempted execution described hearing Pike snoring more than 40 minutes after she received two… pic.twitter.com/C29qzX2i0v
Tennessee authorities attacked over botched execution: 'How do they sleep at night?'
Thursday 1 October 2026 13:25 , Joe SommerladAnti-death penalty groups have come forward to express their anger over how last night’s events in Tennessee played out.
Abraham Bonowitz, co-founder of Death Penalty Action, said in a statement: “The incompetence of the Tennessee Department of Corrections sets the bar at the lowest level tonight.
“There are no other words. This is an outrage. How do they sleep at night?”
Laura Porter, executive director of the U.S. Campaign to End the Death Penalty, pointed out that people from across the political spectrum called for a pause in executions after the botched lethal injection of Tony Carruthers in the same state earlier this year.
“These pleas were ignored,” she told USA Today. “The state of Tennessee has shown the world it cannot be trusted to implement capital punishment in a way that preserves human dignity and the rule of law. This has to stop now.”
Maya Foa, CEO of international legal organisation Reprieve, told the BBC of Pike’s case: “We cannot know exactly what went wrong, because so much happened behind a curtain – lethal injection relies on secrecy at every stage, to hide the violence of the state taking a human life.”
In pictures: Witnesses depart Nashville prison as Pike taken to hospital
Thursday 1 October 2026 12:15 , Joe SommerladThis was the scene in Tennesse late last night as media witnesses left Riverbend to describe what they had seen and an ambulance raced Pike to an offsite medical facility to receive emergency care.
How Wednesday’s legal drama played out before the attempted execution
Thursday 1 October 2026 11:50 , Joe SommerladPike was initially scheduled to be put to death at 10 a.m. yesterday, and witnesses had gathered at the Riverbend Maximum Security Institution in Nashville when the 6th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals voted 2-1 to issue a stay.
That court said a delay was needed to consider whether Pike’s allegations of childhood sexual abuse were fully considered at her sentencing.
The attorney general’s office appealed to the Tennessee Supreme Court, saying that halting the execution at the last moment traumatized Slemmer’s family and rewarded “abusive delay tactics” by Pike’s attorneys.
Later in the day, the high court cleared the way for the execution to proceed.
The conservative majority did not explain their order, while the three liberal members signed a dissent that said Pike’s claims deserved a closer look.
The execution finally went ahead in the evening, with officials raising the curtains on the chamber at 7:27 p.m., showing Pike strapped to a gurney.
“I’m going to leave this world the way I spent most of my life and that is in love," she said in her “last” words. She described herself as at peace.
But Pike remained awake and at one point raised her head and asked prison officials if her arm was supposed to feel that way. It was not clear what she was referencing.
By 8:26 p.m., execution witnesses reported that the second dose of pentobarbital had been administered.
Pike continued to be heard snoring behind the closed curtain until the microphone was cut off at 8:53 p.m.
At that time there was an announcement to escort media witnesses out of the area. Pike was then taken to hospital for “life-saving measures.”
Watch: Reporters describe Pike’s conduct in execution chamber
Thursday 1 October 2026 11:25 , Joe Sommerlad@cnn Tennessee officials were unable to put Christa Gail Pike to death Wednesday for a 1995 murder after administering two doses of a lethal drug. Media witnesses observing from a separate room shared what they saw during the failed attempt. #cnn #news #tennessee
♬ original sound - CNN
Pike’s experience ‘singular and unparalleled,’ says expert
Thursday 1 October 2026 11:00 , Joe SommerladRobin M Maher, executive director of the Death Penalty Information Center, said what Pike experienced is “singular and unparalleled.”
Seven other people have survived medical problems due to an execution team’s failure to access a vein to administer lethal injection drugs, but no one has stayed alive after receiving the drugs used in such executions, she explained.
Pike reportedly remained awake after received her first injection and at one point raised her head and asked prison officials if her arm was supposed to feel that way. It was not clear what she was referring to.
After the second was administered, she could be heard snoring behind the closed curtain until the microphone was cut off and the event’s media witnesses were asked to leave.
Pike said she felt ‘kinship’ with Lindsay Clancy in late interview
Thursday 1 October 2026 10:35 , Joe SommerladSpeaking to The Times recently, Christa Pike expressed sympathy with Lindsay Clancy, the Massachusetts woman recently tried for fatally strangling her three children.
Clancy, 36, a former labor and delivery nurse, admitted to killing Cora, five, Dawson, three, and Callan, eight months, at their home in Duxbury on January 24, 2023.
Her trial this summer saw her argue that she was not criminally responsible for the deaths because she was suffering from severe postpartum depression at the time and ended in a mistrial after the jury failed to reach a unanimous verdict due to a lone holdout.
“I feel a kinship with Lindsay,” Pike said. “We are both females who got into trouble because of uniquely female issues.
“One thing is different, however, is that times have changed a lot on awareness of women’s issues since I was put on trial.
“I am pleased she received a mistrial and is getting the help she needs. There are so many women who don’t get the help they need: me and others.”
Here’s more.
Death row inmate says she feels ‘kinship’ with Lindsay Clancy on eve of execution
How executions have risen under Trump despite wave of states abolishing death penalty
Thursday 1 October 2026 10:10 , Joe SommerladExecutions have risen sharply since President Donald Trump returned to power in January 2025, with 47 carried out last year – the highest annual total since 2009 – and another 28 so far in 2026.
Just six states account for the entirety of this year’s total; 15 executions have been carried out in Florida; six in Texas; three in Oklahoma; two in Alabama, one in Tennessee and one in Arizona, the Death Penalty Information Center said.
While the total is far from the 1999 peak of 98 executions, the recent increase comes despite a series of states abolishing the death penalty in the 21st century.
The record under Trump also makes for a contrast with the four years of Joe Biden’s presidency, during which the death penalty was carried out 11 times in 2021, 18 times in 2022, 24 times in 2023 and 25 times in 2024.
Here’s more.
How executions have risen under Trump despite wave of states abolishing death penalty
Pike could be left with brain injury, medical expert says
Thursday 1 October 2026 08:55 , Joe SommerladDr Joel Zivot, a professor at the Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta, Georgia, who has been retained by Pike’s legal team, has told the BBC the convict is unlikely to have received a sufficient quantity of pentobarbital in her blood to cause the apnoea and cardiovascular failure intended for her execution.
“It’s very possible that as a consequence of the delay of the beginning of resuscitation she will have a brain injury,” Zivot said of the possible consequences of last night’s episode.
‘Nothing about today was normal’
Thursday 1 October 2026 08:30 , Joe SommerladMedia witnesses have held a press conference describing what they saw after Pike was administered with the injections.
Be warned, you might find the reporter’s account below distressing to hear.
BREAKING: “I’ve witnessed, I believe, 5 executions in Tennessee. Nothing about today was normal, typical at all.”
— Fox News (@FoxNews) October 1, 2026
Shocking new details emerge from the failed attempt to execute Christa Pike, the 50-year-old inmate who has spent nearly 30 years on Tennessee’s death row.
At a… pic.twitter.com/gDofxP1Lz5
Christa Pike's failed execution is Tennessee's second botched attempt in months
Thursday 1 October 2026 08:05 , Stuti MishraThe failed attempt to execute Christa Pike is the second botched lethal injection in Tennessee this year, after officials spent about an hour trying and failing to establish IV access on inmate Tony Carruthers in May.
Maria DeLiberato, an attorney for Carruthers, said at the time the medical staff repeatedly stuck his arms and feet with needles, then attempted unsuccessfully to insert a central line through his collarbone and shoulder. Carruthers groaned in pain and bled from puncture wounds, she said.
Governor Bill Lee halted the attempt after more than an hour and later granted Carruthers a one-year reprieve.
More than 40 doctors and nurses wrote to Mr Lee afterwards, calling for executions to be paused and for health workers to be removed from the process, arguing Tennessee's rules conflict with medical ethics guidelines set out by the American Medical Association, which bars doctors from participating in executions.
Nine Republican state lawmakers have joined defence attorneys in demanding a moratorium on the death penalty and an overhaul of the state's execution methods.
Since 2020, 170 people have been executed across 17 states, mostly in Florida, Texas and Oklahoma, according to the Death Penalty Information Center. Six states have recorded botched lethal injections in that time.
What is pentobarbital and why did Biden ban it?
Thursday 1 October 2026 08:00 , Stuti MishraChrista Gail Pike survived on Wednesday after being given two doses of the lethal drug pentobarbital, according to her lawyers.
Pike, 50, was alive and loudly snoring after the attempted lethal injection and was taken by an ambulance from the prison, her attorneys said. She was being treated at a hospital, but they said they hadn't been told about her condition.
She had been scheduled for execution at 10 a.m. Wednesday for the killing she committed at age 18 and would have been the first woman executed in Tennessee in more than 200 years.
Officials gave Pike two doses of pentobarbital, her attorneys said in court filings late Wednesday. The Biden administration had previously removed pentobarbital from the federal protocol for single-drug lethal injections over concerns about the potential for unnecessary pain and suffering.
Read more:
Christa Pike: What is pentobarbital and why did Biden ban the lethal injection drug?
'I met Christa Pike 20 years ago. This is why she shouldn’t be executed'
Thursday 1 October 2026 07:55 , Stuti Mishra
I met Christa Pike 20 years ago. This is why she shouldn’t be executed
Tennessee governor halts all executions after failed attempt
Thursday 1 October 2026 07:16 , Stuti MishraTennessee governor Bill Lee said in a statement that he had ordered “a comprehensive, third-party review to determine exactly what occurred” and the remaining scheduled execution would not take place this year.
“Carrying out a lawfully imposed sentence is among the State’s most serious responsibilities, and the people of Tennessee expect it to be done in a manner that is not only legal and constitutional, but is effective,” he said.
Pike's legal team say she was put through 'unnecessary agony'
Thursday 1 October 2026 07:15 , Stuti MishraWhile the execution was under way, Pike's legal team filed an emergency motion in the Tennessee Supreme Court to immediately stop the process, saying that after receiving the two doses she was still alive and experiencing "unnecessary agony”.
They said the prolonged nature of the attempt had caused her "superadded physical and mental suffering".
"Ms Pike has lost consciousness and still has a heartbeat and is audibly snoring."
Pike spoke what she thought would be last words: 'I'm at peace'
Thursday 1 October 2026 07:13 , Stuti MishraMedia witnesses, who were allowed into the witness room at 6.26pm before her execution, said Pike spoke what she thought would be her last words.
“I’m going to leave this world the way I spent most of my life,” she said, according to Nashville Banner. “And that is with love.”
Pike said she loved her detractors as much as she loved the people who were on her side.
“I’m at peace, I’m ready to be free. This is a happy day,” she finished.
Pike spoke during the process, telling witnesses: "My arm feels like it's about to burst open."
Witnesses reported being surprised by how much she spoke in the early stages of the process as she and her spiritual adviser also sang a song.
Later, they said, her breathing got laboured, but she did not appear to be in distress.
Tennessee defends its handling of Christa Pike execution
Thursday 1 October 2026 07:13 , Stuti MishraTennessee Department of Correction spokesperson Dorinda Carter defended the agency's handling of the execution.
“The Tennessee Department of Correction followed every step of the State's lawful, established execution protocol approved by the Attorney General's Office,” she said in a statement to the Tennessean newspaper.
“The lethal injection chemical in the protocol has consistently been effective, and the protocol does not allow for additional procedures beyond what was carried out this evening. Christa Pike has been transported to an off-site medical facility."
Pike's lawyers rejected that account in their statement to the newspaper.
"Tonight the State of Tennessee once again failed to carry out a lawful execution. We take no pleasure in being right, but the concerns raised by Ms Pike proved to be true: difficult vein access, blown veins, degraded pentobarbital, no emergency medical care available when things inevitably go wrong, all under a protocol that remains veiled in secrecy."
Pike being provided 'life-saving measures' in hospital
Thursday 1 October 2026 07:12 , Stuti MishraThe execution had already been delayed for hours after a panel of the Sixth US Circuit Court of Appeals issued a stay to allow further review of her legal challenges. The US Supreme Court later lifted that stay at Tennessee's request in a 6-3 decision, allowing the execution to proceed before Pike's death warrant expired at midnight.
Pike's federal public defenders told the Tennessee Supreme Court she was "still alive and snoring" and asked the court to immediately halt the process.
"Tonight the State of Tennessee once again failed to carry out a lawful execution," her attorneys, Randy Spivey and Kelly Gleason, said.
Pike was later taken to hospital where she was "being provided life-saving measures”, one of her attorneys told the BBC.
Christa Pike rushed to Tennessee hospital after surviving two lethal injections
Thursday 1 October 2026 07:11 , Stuti MishraTennessee failed in its attempt to execute Christa Pike, who survived and was rushed to hospital late on Wednesday despite being administered two doses of a lethal drug.
Pike was due to be the first woman put to death in the state in 200 years, after a court overturned a late stay of execution. Experts say her survival is unprecedented.
The attempted execution took place at Riverbend Maximum Security Institution in Nashville at about 8pm local time. Pike, 50, was being executed for the 1995 murder of Colleen Slemmer, a fellow student she tortured and killed when she was 18.
Officials administered pentobarbital to Pike twice, and witnesses reported the curtain to the execution chamber was drawn and reopened on two separate occasions as the procedure continued.
Reporters present were eventually told to leave, according to the Associated Press.
