NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Christa Pike's failed execution on Wednesday marked the second time in less than five months that the Tennessee Department of Correction (TDOC) were unable to carry out a scheduled execution.
Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee has halted executions for the remainder of the year. Lee said in a statement that he has ordered “a comprehensive, third-party review to determine exactly what occurred," according to the AP.
WATCH: Christa Pike latest: Gov. Lee halts executions for remainder of year after Pike's botched execution
The botched execution comes after years of changes surrounding Tennessee's execution protocols.
April 21, 2022:
Gov. Bill Lee pauses the execution of Oscar Franklin Smith “due to an oversight in preparation for lethal injection.”
Read the full statement here.
May 2, 2022:
Following the "lethal injection testing oversight” involving Smith’s planned execution, Gov. Lee halts executions for the rest of 2022 and orders an independent investigation.
Read the full statement here.
Dec. 29, 2022:
Lee releases results of independent investigation, blasting the Tennessee Department of Correction (TDOC) for 'tunnel-vision’ and ‘abdication of responsibility' during death row executions.
The report shows TDOC wasn’t following the procedures in its own 2018 protocol, failing to test lethal injection drugs for potency to ensure they would work.
WATCH: IN-DEPTH: Report blasts TDOC 'tunnel-vision,' 'abdication of responsibility' during death row executions
The report also revealed TDOC had trouble finding drugs for lethal injection, asking about importing them from overseas or even asking about sourcing the drugs through an animal doctor.
WATCH: Unable to find a lethal injection drug for death row inmates, TDOC looked to an animal doctor, report says
Dec. 27, 2024:
TDOC announces new lethal injection protocol. The protocol is less than half the length of the previous protocol, and a section titled “contingency issues,” present in the previous protocol, is absent from the new one.
The new protocol says: “There will be no deviation from this Protocol except by order of the Commissioner, when deemed necessary to effectuate the purpose of this Protocol.”
Read more on the protocol here.
May 22, 2025:
TDOC Executes Oscar Franklin Smith under the new protocol.
WATCH: A death row inmate died by lethal injection Thursday morning; His last words were to Governor Lee
May 21, 2026:
TDOC calls off execution of Tony Carruthers after the execution team couldn’t find enough suitable veins to deliver the lethal injection chemicals.
Gov. Lee issued Carruthers a one-year reprieve.
WATCH: Gov. Bill Lee grants one-year reprieve after halted execution of Tony Carruthers
Sept. 30, 2026:
Christa Pike execution fails; TDOC says they “followed every step of the State’s lawful, established execution protocol” and “the protocol does not allow for additional procedures beyond what was carried out this evening.”
News Channel5 reporter Jason Lamb addressed the following questions to TDOC Director of Communications Dorinda Carter:
"Could TDOC please provide additional context and clarification as soon as possible following its initial statement last night, with reference to these questions still outstanding:
- The statement said "the protocol does not allow for additional procedures beyond what was carried out," however, page 5 of the protocol states: "There will be no deviation from this Protocol except by order of the Commissioner, when deemed necessary to effectuate the purpose of this Protocol." (emphasis added). Can TDOC reconcile those two statements? Does the protocol allow for deviation by order of the commissioner or not?
- Was the commissioner consulted or notified at any point that the execution was not proceeding as planned? If so, did the commissioner consider exercising the discretion provided under the protocol to allow for additional procedures?
- The commissioner's discretion language does not appear in TDOC's 2018 protocol. It was introduced in the 2025 protocol. What was the intent behind adding that language, and under what circumstances was it expected to be used?
- The 2018 protocol contained a dedicated section titled "contingency issues." That section does not exist in the current protocol. Why was it removed, and what replaced it as guidance for execution team members when things do not go as planned?
- The current protocol is 44 pages — less than half the length of the 2018 protocol, which was 104 pages. Given that the independent investigation ordered by Gov. Lee found TDOC was not following its own previous protocol, why was the decision made to produce a shorter, less detailed protocol rather than a more comprehensive one?
- TDOC has stated it "followed every step of the State's lawful, established execution protocol." Given that Christa Pike was transported to an outside medical facility following the attempted execution, what specific steps in the protocol govern what happens when an execution cannot be completed, and were those steps followed?"
News Channel5 has not yet received a response to these questions at this time.
September 11, 2001 is a day most associate with terror and tragedy. Austin Pollack shares a story from that day about hope and persistence: the effort to save a little girl’s life – with an organ donation. The problem? The young patient was in Houston, and her life-saving liver here in Nashville. With the grounding of all civilian aircraft, how could it be done? “Nobody ever said this isn’t possible.”
- Rhori Johnston
