Transcript of 911 Call Released After Failed Execution of Tennessee Death Row Inmate

The Nashville Department of Emergency Communications (DEC) released a written account of the 911 call placed at 8:40 p.m. CT on Sept. 30, 2026, after a lethal-injection attempt on death-row inmate Christa Pike failed at Riverbend Maximum Security Institution. DEC said the original audio is exempt from public disclosure under Tennessee law, but the agency prepared a summary based on a review of the recording.

According to the account, witnesses heard Pike say her vein felt like it was about to burst as staff administered two doses of pentobarbital. The drugs did not produce the expected effect, and staff observed abnormal noises described by a witness as “heavy snoring.” Ambulances and police arrived shortly thereafter, and Pike was transported to Vanderbilt University Medical Center, where she was placed on a ventilator.

Initial medical assessments suggested she might be brain dead, but she regained consciousness the following morning. Her attorney, Randy Spivey, said, "I do not have an explanation for what happened between Monday night and Tuesday morning, but what we do know is that Christa has a long road to recovery."

Pike, the only woman on Tennessee’s death row, had been scheduled for execution after a series of court rulings lifted a pause ordered by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. The Supreme Court allowed the execution to proceed in a 6-3 decision.

Following her recovery, Pike was released from the hospital and transferred to the Deborah K. Johnson Rehabilitation Center, where she has been housed for more than three decades.

Pike was sentenced to death for the 1995 murder of 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer, a case that involved co-defendants Tadaryl Shipp and Shadolla Peterson. The crime occurred while both victims were participants in a Jobs Corps program. Law enforcement officials described the scene as extremely violent, while Pike’s supporters have highlighted her efforts to assist other inmates and her participation in therapy while incarcerated.