A documentary on Christa Pike is in focus as she remains unconscious and on a ventilator in a Nashville hospital, five days after her failed execution in Tennessee. Pike, 50, was sentenced to death in 1996 in connection with the 1995 murder of 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer. Pike was 20 at the time.
Pike and her then boyfriend, Tadaryl Shipp, murdered Slemmer at a job training camp in Knoxville, Tennessee. Shocking details about the case shocked the United States, including the fact that a pentagram had been carved into Slemmer’s chest.
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Deep Dive
What is the current condition of Christa Pike after her failed execution?
What led to the delay in administering lethal injection to Christa Pike?
What are the legal implications of Christa Pike's current health status regarding her death sentence?
Dead Woman Walking: Pike vs. Tennessee is an original documentary examining the case of Pike.
Where to watch Dead Woman Walking: Pike vs. Tennessee
Dead Woman Walking: Pike vs. Tennessee was produced in partnership with Sinclair’s stations in Nashville (WZTV) and Chattanooga (WTVC). The documentary takes an in-depth look at the crime, conviction and three decades of legal proceedings surrounding her.
The document uses original reporting, archival material and interviews to examine the circumstances surrounding Slemmer’s murder, Pike’s prosecution and conviction, the appeals that followed and the arguments surrounding her death sentence. The documentary includes interviews with the victim’s mother and Pike’s legal team.
{{/usCountry}}The document uses original reporting, archival material and interviews to examine the circumstances surrounding Slemmer’s murder, Pike’s prosecution and conviction, the appeals that followed and the arguments surrounding her death sentence. The documentary includes interviews with the victim’s mother and Pike’s legal team.
{{/usCountry}}The documentary premiered on September 18, 2026, on YouTube. You can also stream it for free directly on the CNY Central News Page.
The Death Penalty Information Center states that the last execution of a woman in Tennessee was in 1820. This means Pike would have been the first woman to be executed in the state in more than 200 years.
Pike remains on a ventilator with hospital staff working to save her life and clear the pentobarbital she was administered from her system, her attorneys said, according to The Guardian. She received two doses of the drug in a failed attempt by the state of Tennessee to execute her on Wednesday, September 31.
On being asked if she ever regained consciousness after the execution attempt, Assistant Federal Defender Stephen Ferrell, Pike’s lawyer, said on CNN’s State of the Union, “Not that I am aware of.”