Mother of Colleen Slemmer reacts to Christa Pike being ‘conscious, speaking’ after botched execution

What This Story Is About

• Colleen Slemmer’s mother is reacting to the news that one of her daughter’s killers survived Tennessee’s attempt to execute her.

Why It Matters

• In what her attorneys describe as “medically unprecedented,” Christa Pike is “conscious, speaking” after nearly a week of being hospitalized and on a ventilator following a botched execution.

Catch Up

• Doctor involved in Tony Carruthers’ botched execution administered Christa Pike’s lethal injection — and she’s still alive
• Attorneys for Christa Pike file emergency motion to halt execution
• Former U.S. attorney to conduct review of botched execution of Christa Pike
• Tennessee’s Gov. Lee orders ‘comprehensive’ review of Christa Pike’s attempted execution, calls off remaining execution for 2026

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WSMV) - After her attorneys announced Tuesday that Christa Pike is “conscious, speaking” nearly a week after her botched execution, the mother of Pike’s murder victim has spoken out.

May Martinez, the mother of Pike’s murder victim Colleen Slemmer, said she had a feeling Pike would survive, according to a report by NBC affiliate WBIR. She also said she does not think that Tennessee will make another attempt to execute her daughter’s killer.

Pike was one of three people found to be involved in the 1995 torture and killing of Slemmer on the University of Tennessee-Knoxville campus. Pike’s boyfriend at the time, Tadaryl Shipp, was also found guilty of first-degree murder and conspiracy first-degree murder, received life in prison rather than the death penalty because he was 17 at the time. Shadolla Peterson, who was 18 during the crime, was convicted of being an accessory and received parole after she became an informant to police.

When asked what her preference would be for what happens to Pike next, Martinez responded, “It doesn’t matter what I think,” according to WBIR.

“They’re going to do what they’re going to do,” WBIR reported she said.

What happened with Christa Pike’s execution

Pike, who is convicted for the 1995 torture and murder of Colleen Slemmer, was supposed to be executed via lethal injection in Tennessee last Wednesday. However, after receiving two doses of what should have been lethal amounts of pentobarbital, she survived.

WSMV4 was at Nashville’s Riverbend Maximum Security Institution when the attempted execution occurred and witnessed the moment an ambulance arrived at the scene to take Pike to the hospital.

Attorneys for Pike released a statement that night saying Pike was being treated at a nearby hospital. It was later confirmed she had been transported to Vanderbilt University Medical Center.

“Tonight the State of Tennessee once again failed to carry out a lawful execution,” they said after the attempt. “We take no pleasure in being right, but the concerns raised by Ms. Pike proved to be true: difficult vein access, blown veins, degraded pentobarbital, no emergency medical care available when things inevitably go wrong, all under a protocol that remains veiled in secrecy.”

The following afternoon, her attorneys say that Pike was receiving “life-saving medical care,” calling it “cruel and torturous.” On Oct. 2, a court filing from her attorneys showed that Pike was on a ventilator and unconscious.

In the latest update October 6, Pike’s attorneys said that “despite the severe damage she endured to her arms, she is still handcuffed and shackled to the bed.”

“Her recovery is medically unprecedented. Her prognosis remains unclear but, at a minimum, we expect a long recovery,” they said. “We are incredibly grateful to the first responders and the medical team at the hospital who treated Christa like a human and have provided exceptional care to her. We also want to thank thousands from all over the world who sent messages offering prayers and support for Christa. ”

What comes next for Christa Pike?

Whether the state can proceed with another execution attempt remains to be seen.

“Given what we know now, how she responds to lethal injection, and given what happened to her, Christa Pike’s lawyers have a pretty good argument that it would be a violation of the Eighth Amendment to execute her using [lethal injection],” Vanderbilt Law School professor Christopher Slobogin told WSMV4.

A press conference will be held with Pike’s attorneys on Wednesday. The time for that press conference has yet to be confirmed.