Nashville, Tenn. — Authorities have released 911 records from Riverbend Maximum Security Institution the night of Christa Pike attempted execution, and the newly released files show confusion among dispatchers after the lethal injection failed.
The Nashville Department of Emergency Communications first received notification of the incident at Riverbend Maximum Security Institution through a 911 call at 8:40 p.m. CT on Sept. 30, 2026. A caller from the prison said they had administered 10 grams of pentobarbital, that the person was not yet deceased, and that breathing was very labored and slow.
DEC said after a Metro Legal review that the original 911 audio is exempt from public disclosure under Tennessee Code 10-7-504(h), and prepared a written account based on a review of the recording. Other calls that night showed center personnel working to confirm the incident, including a check with Tennessee Department of Correction Central Control around 9 p.m.
At 9:08 p.m. CT, Pike attorney Kelly Gleason called 911 and asked for immediate life-saving care, saying Pike was not awake and was snoring. Dispatchers then sought Tennessee Highway Patrol so EMS could enter the prison after staff at the front gate said responders were needed.
Pike received what was supposed to be two lethal doses of pentobarbital on Sept. 30 but survived. She was taken to Vanderbilt University Medical Center, was later thought to be brain dead, then regained consciousness. Her attorneys confirmed on Saturday, October 10, that she had been released from the hospital and transferred back to prison.
Pike is the only woman on Tennessee death row, sentenced for the 1995 murder of Colleen Slemmer in Knoxville. Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee paused all executions until her case is investigated.
