{"href":"https://api.simplecast.com/oembed?url=https%3A%2F%2Fpushing-up-lilies.simplecast.com%2Fepisodes%2Fchrista-pike-failed-execution-mystery-_WVQ5j2H","width":444,"version":"1.0","type":"rich","title":"Christa Pike: Failed Execution Mystery","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_url":"https://image.simplecastcdn.com/images/e6f5b62c-73b6-4771-9a31-5dcfefae3ed9/5399069e-4957-4f8d-a50b-99d4a6bbdd38/pul-podcast-cover-3000.jpg","thumbnail_height":300,"provider_url":"https://simplecast.com","provider_name":"Simplecast","html":"<iframe src=\"https://player.simplecast.com/d902dcc7-a369-4263-853c-baf5f7d9c226\" height=\"200\" width=\"100%\" title=\"Christa Pike: Failed Execution Mystery\" frameborder=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\"></iframe>","height":200,"description":"In January 1995, 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer was brutally murdered near the University of Tennessee campus in Knoxville. Eighteen-year-old Christa Gail Pike was convicted of premeditated first-degree murder and sentenced to death. Three decades later, the case is once again drawing attention following a reported execution attempt that left Pike alive and hospitalized.\n\nIn this episode of Pushing Up Lilies, forensic nurse and former death investigator Julie Mattson revisits Colleen's murder, the evidence that led to Pike's conviction, and the circumstances surrounding the reported failed execution.\n\nDrawing on more than 30 years of nursing experience, Julie examines the medical questions raised by lethal injection, the role of pentobarbital, and the complications that can arise when an execution does not proceed as intended. She also explores the ethical and legal questions surrounding capital punishment, the importance of physical evidence, and the lasting impact of this case on Colleen's family."}