True Crime Time For October 2, 2026 | Christa Pike Survives Execution & Tennessee Halts the Rest
True Crime Time For October 2, 2026 | Christa Pike Survives Execution & Tennessee Halts the Rest  
Podcast: Real Life Real Crime
Published On: Fri Oct 02 2026
Description: Woody Overton takes a deep dive into the extraordinary attempted execution of Tennessee death-row inmate Christa Pike. After last-minute court battles, Tennessee proceeded with Pike’s execution, but two doses of lethal-injection drugs failed to kill her. According to the reports covered in the episode, Pike remained alive and was transported to a hospital. Tennessee Governor Bill Lee subsequently ordered a third-party review and halted the state’s remaining executions for the year. Pasted textWoody revisits the 1995 murder of Colleen Slemmer, the crime for which Pike was sentenced to death, and discusses the broader debate surrounding capital punishment, execution protocols and what happens when an execution goes wrong. He also looks back at Ted Bundy’s execution and a long history of botched or failed executions—from lethal injection and the electric chair to gas chambers, hangings and centuries-old beheadings. Pasted text Pasted textTrue Crime Time For, Woody Overton, Real Life Real Crime, Christa Pike, Colleen Slemmer, Tennessee death row, botched execution, lethal injection, death penalty, capital punishment, Governor Bill Lee, Riverbend Maximum Security Institution, Tony Carruthers, Ted Bundy, electric chair, gas chamber, hanging, botched executions, true crimeChrista Pike’s attempted executionColleen Slemmer murderTwo lethal-injection doses failTennessee halts remaining 2026 executionsReview of Tennessee’s execution protocolTony Carruthers execution attemptTed Bundy’s executionLethal injection complicationsHistoric botched executionsElectric chair, gas chamber and hangingCapital punishment debateThe central story is the failed execution of Christa Pike and its consequences. After Pike survived the attempted lethal injection, Tennessee halted its remaining executions for 2026 while the process is reviewed. Pasted textWoody uses the incident to examine a much larger question throughout the episode: how governments carry out death sentences, what constitutes a botched execution, and how failures can affect other death-row cases and victims’ families. Our Sponsors:* Check out BetterHelp and use my code betterhelp.com for a great deal: https://www.betterhelp.com* Check out Progressive: https://www.progressive.com* Check out Stio and use my code stio.com/RLRC for a great deal: https://www.stio.com* Check out TruDiagnostic and use my code RLRC for a great deal: https://www.trudiagnostic.com* Check out Vinted: https://www.vinted.comAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy