Christa Pike's lethal injection encountered IV line complications in Tennessee

World Oct 02, 2026

Christa Pike, 50, was set to be the first woman executed in Tennessee since the 1800s for a murder she committed in 1995.

But her lethal injection attempt encountered IV-line complications when medical staff couldn't find a vein for the IV, even after multiple tries.

Pike requested all female execution team

Pike had asked for an all-female execution team because of past trauma with men, a request her lawyer described as her apparently being a dying wish.

She tried to help by pointing out possible veins, but it didn't work out, and she ended up hospitalized in critical condition.

The case has also brought up tough questions about justice, trauma, and how executions are carried out.