In 1995, 18-year-old Job Corps student Christa Pike carried out one of the most savage murders in Tennessee history, luring 19-year-old classmate Colleen Slemmer into the Knoxville woods before stabbing her, carving a pentagram into her chest, and smashing her skull with an asphalt paving brick—keeping a fragment of Colleen's bone as a trophy to dance with at her dorm. Pike became the youngest woman sentenced to death in modern U.S. history, but tonight, justice remains stalled after an execution attempt went catastrophically wrong. Executioners spent over an hour sticking Pike with at least ten needles without establishing venous access due to severely collapsed veins. Now, Pike's defense attorneys have taken the unprecedented step of filing legal challenges demanding the hangman's noose or a surgical central line, while citing new cognitive damage and past trauma to block a second execution. Nancy Grace and her panel of medical, legal, and investigative experts—joined by Colleen's close friend Rita Morris—break down the botched lethal injection, the gruesome reality of alternate execution methods, and the ongoing anguish of Colleen’s mother, May Martinez, as Tennessee Governor Bill Lee refuses to act. 

Joining Nancy Grace Today: 

• Rita Morris - Friend of Colleen Slemmer
• Marie Pereira (Los Angeles, CA) - Criminal Defense Attorney, Domestic Violence Expert (Domestic violence expert certified advocate, batterers prevention), Registered Nurse
  
• Dr. Bethany Marshall (Beverly Hills, CA) - Psychoanalyst, Watch Dr. Marshall on hit shows "Paris in Love" on Peacock and "The Valley, Persian Style" on Bravo. You can also catch her on Netflix and Hulu as well. Host of "On the Couch with Dr. Bethany Marshall" podcast, Instagram, Facebook & TikTok: @drbethanymarshall, X: @DrBethanyLive
• Dr William Morrone (Michigan) - Medical Examiner, Toxicologist, Pathologist, opioid treatment expert, Author: “American Narcan” 
• Keith Sharon (Nashville, TN) - Reporter, "The Tennessean", Host of the “Murder on Music Row” podcast, Social Media: @kssharontn
• Dave Mack (AL) - Investigative Reporter, 'Crime Stories'