Gov. Lee: Christa Pike's Death Sentence Likely Stands

Tennessee Governor Bill Lee stated Wednesday that he expects Christa Pike's death sentence to remain in effect, despite her survival of a failed execution attempt in September. Lee addressed the question of whether the state would retry the execution or if he would commute her sentence to life in prison.

Pike was sentenced to death for the 1995 murder of Colleen Slemmer. During the September execution attempt, she survived two doses of the lethal injection drug. The procedure was the second botched execution in Tennessee this year.

Following the procedure, Pike spent several days in a hospital before returning to prison. Lee noted that she is now able to speak in full sentences and walk on her own. She remains incarcerated under current state laws.

"As it related to a particular individual like Christa Pike and her crime, she's still incarcerated under the laws of the state of Tennessee," Lee said. "I suspect her sentence will be the same as before unless determined otherwise by the courts."

Lee has paused all executions in the state through the end of the year to review what went wrong during Pike's attempt. Frank Strada, the commissioner of the Department of Correction, resigned following the incident. Lee indicated that Strada will leave his post by the end of October and that a replacement will be announced within the next few days.