CHRISTA PIKE
Christa Pike, the only woman on Tennessee’s death row, was given two lethal injections of pentobarbital during the State’s botched execution attempt on September 30, 2026. She is alive after spending a week in the hospital. While there was very limited information about what happened during the execution attempt on September 30, revelations of the debacle continue to be revealed through interviews of witnesses, public records requests, and press conferences.
Prior to the execution attempt, advocates and faith leaders had called for clemency and a commutation of life without parole. Those requests continue even louder today.
Background information on Pike’s case:
- Age and Brain Development: Pike was 18 years old at the time of the offense. An 18-year-old brain is not fully developed and lacks adult capacity.
- Trauma and Abuse History: She suffered severe, documented childhood physical and sexual abuse, including multiple rapes starting as a toddler, and neglect.
- Mental Illness: She had untreated mental illness, undiagnosed bipolar disorder (later treated successfully), and PTSD at the time of the crime.
- Lack of Mitigating Evidence at Trial: Her jury never heard about her mental illness, brain damage, or history of abuse.
- Singular Treatment & Rehabilitation: Out of eight individuals sentenced to death in Tennessee at age 18, Pike was and is the only one still facing execution. Over 20 years in solitary confinement, she showed remorse and served as a source of support for other incarcerated women.
If she had been executed, Pike would have been the only individual in Tennessee in the modern era to be executed for actions taken when she was 18 and the first woman executed in Tennessee in more than 200 years.
You can still take action on behalf of Christa Pike at this link: TAKE ACTION: Sign and share the petition asking Governor Lee to commute Christa’s sentence to life.
Learn more about Christa’s case at https://www.mercyforchrista.org/
GARY SUTTON
Gary Sutton’s 2026 execution date was called off by Governor Lee. Mr. Sutton has a reprieve until at least October 7, 2027.
Gary Sutton awaits execution for the murder of his close friend, Tommy Griffin. Gary has always fiercely maintained his innocence.
Gary’s case is riddled with errors. There is no direct evidence of his guilt. The only scientific evidence linking Gary to the case was offered by a now disgraced state medical examiner who lied on the stand and was stripped of his medical license. Moreover, there are other credible suspects who had motive and opportunity to commit Tommy’s murder.
With the death penalty in Tennessee reserved for only the most certain and heinous of circumstances, the State should not put to death a man whose conviction is flawed in so many ways and where so many questions still remain 30 years later. Gary should not be put to death.
TAKE ACTION: Sign and share the petition asking Governor Lee to commute Gary’s sentence to life.
Learn more about Gary’s case at https://www.justiceforgarywaynesutton.com/ and in the press release here:
WITH 1-YEAR REPREIVE, NOW IS THE TIME FOR GOV. LEE TO STOP TONY CARRUTHERS’ EXECUTION AND TEST DNA EVIDENCE
On May 21, the state of Tennessee attempted to execute Tony Carruthers — never opting to run simple fingerprint and DNA testing that could prove his innocence.
Governor Bill Lee has the power to pause this execution and demand answers to the most basic question: Did Tennessee get the right person?
Here is what we know:
- Carruthers was convicted without physical evidence.
- His conviction was based on testimony from informants, including one paid by the statewho later recanted his statement.
- For decades, the state denied that this informant was paid and actively prevented the jury from knowing the full truth.
- Carruthers was forced to represent himself in court—resulting in a trial riddled with so many mistakes that his co-defendant was granted a new trial.
- There are several fingerprints and DNA from the scene that don’t match Mr. Carruthers, but they were never compared to a suspect identified by his co-defendant.
If Tennessee executes Mr. Carruthers, he will be the first person in nearly a century to be executed after being forced to represent himself at trial.
Send a letter to Governor Lee here.
THE TORTUROUS EXECUTION OF BYRON BLACK
On August 5, 2025, Tennessee executed Byron Black with pentobarbital. As reported by every media witness present for his execution, Mr. Black was not rendered unconscious but gasped for air and lifted his head multiple times, stating, “It hurts so bad. I can’t do this.”
His autopsy revealed that he suffered from pulmonary edema during his execution and that even after he was declared dead by the Tennessee Department of Correction (TDOC), Mr. Black experienced sustained cardiac activity for at least two minutes.
Given the secrecy of Tennessee’s new protocol, its reliance on pentobarbital, the State’s refusal to deactivate Mr. Black’s defibrillator, and the total lack of judicial review, this result was predictable.
TENNESSEE EXECUTION DATES FOR 2026:
Tony Carruthers for May 21, 2026 – BOTCHED ATTEMPTED EXECUTION; ONE-YEAR REPRIEVE
Darrell Hines for August 13, 2026 – EXECUTED ON 8/13/26
Christa Pike for September 30, 2026 – BOTCHED ATTEMPTED EXECUTION
Gary Sutton for December 3, 2026 – GRANTED REPRIEVE UNTIL 10/7/27
Read more about the execution dates and cases of three men and one woman here.
Despite the fact that Tennessee’s troubling, newly-adopted lethal injection protocol has not been reviewed by the courts to determine its constitutionality, the State of Tennessee executed Oscar Smith on May 22, 2025, after he spent 35 years on death row.
You can learn more about the problems with the new protocol here.
You can read a report about Mr. Smith’s execution here.