May Martinez expected to finally witness justice after nearly three decades of grief, having traveled from Florida to Tennessee to see the state carry out its sentence against the woman who tortured and killed her daughter. Instead, she watched something go terribly wrong inside the execution chamber, with curtains drawn and redrawn, officials whispering, and the condemned woman still breathing after not one but two rounds of lethal injectionNo one would tell her what was happening in those first moments, and no one in the room seemed fully in control. By the time officials finally offered an explanation, it came wrapped in sterile, clinical language, and the promise of justice felt hollow to the mother who had waited so long to see it fulfilled.
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A Mother’s Long Wait for Justice
Martinez had carried the weight of her daughter’s murder for nearly three decades. Colleen was just 19 when she was killed by Christa Pike, remembered by her mother as a young woman who loved computers and spending time at roller rinks.
Chaos Behind the Curtain
Members of the media present were ushered out as officials continued whispering among themselves.
When explanations eventually came, they were couched in clinical language about “protocol” and “medical care,” offering little clarity about what had gone wrong.
Grief, Anger, and an Unfinished Fight
Martinez’s reaction cut through the official language. “They f***** up,” she said, describing what she had just witnessed.
Experts have since warned that Pike may have suffered brain damage from the delay in resuscitation. The state maintains that every approved step of the execution protocol was followed.
For Martinez, none of that erases the chaos she witnessed or the decades of grief she has carried. She says she will keep speaking for her daughter, continuing to be Colleen’s voice.