Christa Pike Remains Hospitalized After Botched Execution; Accomplice Converts to Islam

Christa Pike, 50, remains hospitalized in critical condition, unconscious and on a ventilator, after surviving two botched lethal injection attempts last Wednesday in Tennessee.

Her arms are reportedly swollen, burned and blistered from the drug. Prison officials administered two doses of pentobarbital, but witnesses reported Pike remained alive and snoring after the drugs. Her lawyer, Steve Ferrell, called for the death penalty to be taken off the table for Pike, stating she may not fully recover and her competence could be an issue.

Tennessee Republicans, including U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn and House Speaker Cameron Sexton, are exploring alternative execution methods, with Sexton stating no method that’s off the table. NBC News reported that the execution chamber lacked medical oxygen or a mask, requiring staff to retrieve them during the incident. Her then-boyfriend and accomplice, Tadaryl Shipp, 49, was 17 at the time of the crime and not eligible for the death penalty.

Shipp was sentenced to life in prison for first-degree murder and 25 years for conspiracy. Prosecutors accused Shipp of holding Slemmer down and carving pentagrams into her chest and face, while Pike slashed Slemmer and bashed her skull with asphalt. Shipp, who explored satanism as a teenager and wore a pentagram pendant with Pike, has since converted to Islam in prison, adopting the alias Abdul Khalip.

He filed an unsuccessful federal lawsuit in 2016 seeking halal food and Islamic prayer oils. Shipp was denied parole in October 2025 and will have another hearing in October 2031. Frank Strada, Tennessee's correction commissioner, will resign later this month, having overseen multiple executions that raised concerns in Arizona and Tennessee.