Christa Pike, who has spent 30 years on Tennessee’s death row, was reported to have a rare type of cancer before her planned execution. (Foto: Instagram)
Christa Pike, a 50-year-old death-row prisoner in the United States who survived two attempts to execute her by lethal injection, was diagnosed with a rare type of cancer before her execution, People magazine reported. Her lawyers have argued that her medical condition could make an execution by lethal injection more painful and increase the risk of complications.
In a court filing submitted Jan. 8, 2026, Pike’s attorneys argued that the planned execution would violate the First, Eighth and 14th Amendments to the U.S. Constitution. The filing said Pike’s platelet levels were significantly above normal and that the condition could be linked to a rare blood cancer known as a myeloproliferative disorder.
Pike was sentenced to death for killing her colleague Colleen Slemmer in 1995 and had spent 30 years on death row. She was on track to become the first woman executed in Tennessee in 200 years. After surviving the lethal injection, she became the first prisoner in the state to survive that procedure.
Pike regained consciousness in a hospital on Oct. 6 while connected to a ventilator. Her first words were, “Where am I, and who are you?” She then asked about Slemmer’s family, according to Spivey. Pike was discharged from the hospital on Oct. 10 and returned to prison, where she has been held for more than 30 years.
