Doctor Who Oversaw Christa Pike’s Botched Execution Still Wants Her Put to Death — Despite Being Part of the Failed Procedure

Dr. Mark Fowler is defending his role in Tennessee’s failed execution attempt, insisting he is not incompetent while maintaining that the convicted killer should still face the death penalty. His comments have reignited questions about what went wrong inside the execution chamber.

The doctor assigned to pronounce Christa Pike dead during Tennessee’s failed execution attempt is speaking publicly about what happened — and making one thing clear: he still believes she should be put to death. Dr. Mark Fowler, 69, recently discussed the September 30 incident in an interview with Intelligencer, describing the moment he was called into the execution chamber after Pike failed to die. Pike, now 50, had received two doses of pentobarbital as part of the lethal-injection procedure. But instead of confirming her death, Fowler was confronted with an inmate who was still alive and gasping for air.

According to Fowler, the prison warden told him, “She’s not dead.” Initially, the doctor believed they should wait a little longer because people can respond differently to medication. But as time passed and Pike remained alive, he became concerned that she could suffer irreversible brain damage. Fowler eventually assessed her as being comatose. When prison officials ordered the execution stopped, his role changed dramatically: he was now responsible for helping arrange emergency medical treatment for the woman he had been called to declare dead.

The failure was later linked to improperly placed intravenous lines. Instead of entering Pike’s bloodstream, the lethal drugs were delivered into the tissue beneath the skin of her arms. Fowler acknowledged that when Pike complained of pain in her arm, the execution team should have stopped and reassessed the situation. He also argued that Tennessee needs to change its lethal-injection protocol. He favors returning to an older three-drug combination that includes potassium chloride, rather than relying on pentobarbital alone. That approach, however, has faced criticism from death-row inmates and their attorneys over concerns about the severe pain it may cause.

Despite the controversy and the criticism directed at him, Fowler says he has not changed his position on capital punishment. He still hopes Tennessee will carry out Pike’s sentence, saying he wants justice for Colleen Slemmer’s family. Slemmer was 19 when she was tortured and killed in Knoxville in 1995. Pike was convicted of the murder and sentenced to death in 1996. Slemmer’s mother was reportedly present to witness the failed execution attempt, making the incident another painful chapter for a family that has waited decades for the sentence to be carried out.

Fowler has also pushed back against accusations that he is unfit for the role, telling Intelligencer: “I’m not an evil, vicious person. I’m not unscrupulous. I’m not uncaring, and I’m not incompetent.” His comments come as Pike describes the lasting effects of the failed procedure. In her first public statement since the incident, she said she has experienced constant pain in her body, arms, hands and throat, and continues to struggle with speaking. She also described emotional and psychological suffering after waking up in a hospital, having entered the execution chamber prepared to die.

Pike was discharged from the hospital and returned to prison nearly two weeks after the failed execution. Tennessee Governor Bill Lee has suspended executions in the state for the remainder of 2026. For now, Pike remains on death row, and the future of any further execution attempt is uncertain. The episode has raised serious questions about the state’s execution procedures, the medical oversight involved and whether the death penalty can be carried out safely and reliably. Meanwhile, Fowler’s continued support for Pike’s execution has added another layer of controversy to a case that has already drawn national attention.

Source: PEOPLE