Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee indicated Wednesday that Christa Pike’s death sentence is likely to remain in place despite a failed execution attempt in September that left her alive and requiring hospital treatment.

Asked whether the state would attempt to execute Pike again or commute her sentence to life in prison, Lee told reporters, “I suspect her sentence will be the same as before unless determined otherwise by the courts.”

Pike, 50, was scheduled to be executed Sept. 30 for the 1995 murder of Colleen Slemmer, a 19-year-old fellow Job Corps student in Knoxville. The execution attempt failed after prison officials administered two doses of the lethal injection drug pentobarbital, with witnesses reporting that Pike remained alive.

Her attorneys said officials struggled to establish usable intravenous access and made multiple attempts to insert an IV. Pike suffered severe injuries to her arms and was transported to a hospital for treatment.

Pike eventually regained consciousness and recovered the ability to speak and walk. She has since returned to prison, where she continues to receive medical care.

The botched execution has triggered significant consequences for Tennessee’s death penalty system. Lee halted all executions through the end of 2026 while officials investigate the circumstances surrounding the failed procedure.

Tennessee Department of Correction Commissioner Frank Strada has also resigned and is expected to leave his position by the end of the month.

Pike was sentenced to death for the killing of Slemmer in December 1995. The case involved the brutal murder of the teenager, who was attending the Job Corps program in Knoxville alongside Pike.

Pike remains on Tennessee’s death row. Lee’s comments suggest the state does not intend to automatically commute her sentence because of the failed execution, although any future execution attempt and the ultimate status of her sentence remain subject to legal proceedings and the ongoing investigation.