DOCTOR WHO OVERSAW CHRISTA PIKE’S BOTCHED EXECUTION STILL WANTS HER PUT TO DEATH

Dr. Mark Fowler, the physician assigned to pronounce Pike dead during Tennessee’s failed September execution, says he still believes the death sentence should be carried out — despite the medical failures that left her fighting for her life.

The doctor involved in Christa Pike’s failed execution has spoken out about what happened inside Tennessee’s execution chamber — and revealed that he still wants the 50-year-old death row inmate to be put to death.

Dr. Mark Fowler was the physician assigned to pronounce Pike dead during her scheduled execution on September 30, 2026. But after she received two doses of the lethal injection drug pentobarbital, she continued breathing.

In a new interview with New York Magazine’s Intelligencer, Fowler described the moments when officials realized the execution had not worked and explained why he continues to support carrying out Pike’s sentence.

His comments come just one month after the unprecedented failure, which left Pike hospitalized and raised serious questions about Tennessee’s execution procedures.

“SHE’S NOT DEAD”

Fowler said he was initially waiting outside the execution chamber when he was summoned after Pike failed to die.

He recalled being told by the prison warden: “She’s not dead.”

At first, Fowler said he believed officials might simply need to wait longer for the medication to take effect.

But as Pike continued breathing, he became concerned that she could suffer permanent brain damage.

Fowler later entered the chamber and determined that Pike was comatose. When officials eventually halted the execution, he helped arrange emergency medical care.

Pike was taken to a hospital, where she received treatment before eventually regaining consciousness.

WHAT WENT WRONG?

Investigators and subsequent reporting identified improperly placed intravenous lines as a central problem in the failed procedure.

Instead of entering Pike’s bloodstream as intended, the pentobarbital was delivered into tissue in her arms.

Fowler acknowledged that the team should have stopped and reassessed the situation when Pike complained of pain in her arm.

“She complained of pain in her arm,” he said. “They should have stopped and reassessed, and they didn’t.”

The failure has prompted renewed scrutiny of Tennessee’s lethal-injection protocol and the medical oversight involved in executions.

Fowler has argued that the state needs to change its procedures. He said he favors returning to an older three-drug combination that includes potassium chloride, rather than relying on pentobarbital alone.

WHY HE STILL BELIEVES PIKE SHOULD BE EXECUTED

Despite the failed procedure and the criticism he has faced, Fowler said he still hopes Tennessee will carry out Pike’s death sentence.

Part of his reasoning, he explained, is that he believes there should be “a sense of justice” for the family of Colleen Slemmer, the 19-year-old woman Pike was convicted of murdering in 1995.

Slemmer’s mother, May Martinez, had traveled to Tennessee to witness the scheduled execution on September 30.

Fowler also pushed back against criticism of his involvement in executions, defending his character and professional judgment.

“I’m not an evil, vicious person. I’m not unscrupulous. I’m not uncaring, and I’m not incompetent,” he said.

He added that he would not be persuaded to abandon what he considers his responsibility.

PIKE SAYS SHE HAS BEEN IN PAIN SINCE WAKING UP

Meanwhile, Pike has described the lasting physical and emotional effects of the failed execution.

In her first public statement since the September 30 incident, released on October 30, she said she woke up in a hospital days later, confused and in pain.

“There hasn’t been a moment since that night when I haven’t been in pain,” she said.

She described pain in her body, arms, hands and throat, adding that she still struggles to speak.

Pike also said the experience had affected her emotionally and that she had never expected to live beyond the night of her scheduled execution.

She acknowledged the suffering of Slemmer’s family, saying she continued to think about the pain and loss they had endured.

WHAT HAPPENS NEXT?

Tennessee Governor Bill Lee has suspended executions through the end of 2026 and ordered an independent review of the failed procedure.

Pike’s death sentence has not been overturned, and no new execution date has been announced.

Her attorneys are continuing to challenge the circumstances surrounding the failed execution and have sought to prevent another attempt.

For now, Pike remains on death row, while the state faces questions about how the execution was carried out — and whether its procedures will change before any future executions take place.