October 2, 2026 • 6 mins
Tennessee halts executions after Christa Pike survived two doses of lethal injection drugs. Douglas Carter is free after 41 years behind bars, most of it on death row. And a Florida mom is arrested after police say she left her four children home alone while she went on a cruise.
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Speaker 1 (00:05):
Tennessee tried to execute the only woman on its death
row this week, but something went seriously wrong.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
I would say that Pike appeared notably awake.
Speaker 1 (00:14):
And now the governor has stopped executions for the rest
of the year. And a Utah man sentenced to die
for murder is walking free after more than four decades
behind bars as questions continue to grow about the case
against him.
Speaker 3 (00:27):
Today was the first day he's walked outside without being
shackled hands and feet.
Speaker 1 (00:32):
And a Florida mom went on a three-day cruise to
the Bahamas. Police say there was just one problem. She
left her four children home alone.
Speaker 4 (00:40):
It says she went on a cruise and left her
children home alone. Including a two-month-old baby. She was going
to drop them off at the mother's house, but never did.
Speaker 5 (00:48):
These poor kids were home alone for three days.
Speaker 1 (00:52):
I guess there's probable cause for child neglect. It's Friday,
October 2nd. From the Black Effect Podcast Network, I'm Amy Brown.
This is Front Page, and here are the day's biggest stories.
Stay with me. Tennessee is reviewing its execution process after
(01:12):
Krista Pike survived two doses of lethal injections Wednesday night.
Pike is the only woman on Tennessee's death row and
would have been the first woman executed in the state
in more than 200 years. Witnesses say after the first dose,
she was still awake and responding. The state then gave
her a second dose, and she was still alive.
Speaker 2 (01:32):
I would say that Pike appeared notably awake as the
execution began. The curtains of the execution chamber closed for
the final time at around 8.06 p.m., and she could
be heard loudly snoring, clearly very alive, in the chamber
until media witnesses were told to leave the area.
Speaker 1 (01:52):
Pike was eventually taken to the hospital. And this is
what makes this case so unusual. People have survived execution
attempts before when officials couldn't get the drugs into their system.
But the Death Penalty Information Center says there is no
known cause of someone receiving the execution drugs and surviving.
(02:12):
It is also the second execution Tennessee has failed to
carry out this year. Governor Bill Lee has now ordered
an independent review and says there will be no more
executions in Tennessee for the rest of the year. The
state says it followed its protocol. Pike's attorneys say what
happened shows there are serious problems with that protocol and
that the execution caused unnecessary suffering. Pike was sentenced to
(02:35):
death for the 1995 murder of 19-year-old Colleen Slimmer. And
a 71-year-old black man who spent 41 years behind bars,
most of them on death row, is now free while
prosecutors reassess the murder case against him. Douglas Carter was
(02:55):
charged in the killing of Eva Olson in Utah in 1985,
but his conviction was overturned after investigative misconduct was uncovered.
Two key witnesses later recanted, and Carter has long said
his confession was coerced. And now new DNA testing found
Carter is not a match for DNA recovered from key
evidence at the crime scene. His attorney, Neil Hamilton, says
(03:19):
Carter could have been executed before any of this evidence
came to light.
Speaker 3 (03:23):
Today was the first day he's walked outside without being
shackled hands and feet. He hasn't seen the sky. He
hasn't tasted fresh air. He's going to have to relearn
to live his life. He doesn't know anything about our society,
anything about our world. The world Doug walked into is
not the world he walked out of when the States
stole his life.
Speaker 1 (03:44):
Carter walked out of jail Monday night and was met
by his son, Tyler anger, who talked about the simple
things they want to do together after 41 years.
Speaker 6 (03:53):
I want him to have a cup of coffee that
I brought him. Hopefully it's still kind of hot. Hopefully
he doesn't get too jittery cause it's been a while. Um,
I want him to see the stars. I'd like for
him to just get a life that we all get
to live.
Speaker 1 (04:08):
Now Carter has not been exonerated, the murder charge is
still pending, and prosecutors are reassessing the evidence. But they
have taken the death penalty off the table. Carter is
out on bail with a GPS monitor, and his attorneys
are now pushing prosecutors to drop the murder charge altogether.
(04:32):
And a Florida mother is facing four counts of child
neglect after police say she left her four children home
alone and went on a three-day cruise to the Bahamas.
Natalie Belazar is 29 years old. Her children range in
age from two months to 12 years old. Police say
the children's father became suspicious after seeing a cruise ticket
(04:52):
on her WhatsApp story. Belazar allegedly told him the kids
were staying with their great-grandmother. But two days later, he
went to the apartment and saw the TV on and
heard the children inside. He called 911. Police forced their
way in and found all four children alone in the bathroom.
Their great-grandmother told investigators Belazar was supposed to drop the
(05:14):
kids off with her, but never did. She was arrested
when the crews returned to Miami. And at her bond hearing,
the judge had plenty to say after reading the allegations
against her.
Speaker 4 (05:25):
It says she went on a cruise and left her
children home alone. Including a two-month-old baby.
Speaker 5 (05:30):
She's going to drop them off at the mother's house,
but never did. These poor kids, we're home alone for
three days. I guess there's probable cause for child neglect.
Speaker 4 (05:40):
We're just grateful nothing worse happened to these kids. Judge Ms.
Belizer denies these allegations. Of course she does. One baby,
the baby was born in July of this year. Who
leaves a baby alone like that? You would agree to
supervised visitation. I don't think I want to do that.
Who leaves a kid, four little kids alone? Judge, it's
an allegation at this time. To go on a cruise.
(06:01):
They arrested her disembarking from the cruise ship.
Speaker 1 (06:03):
Police say the children were not seriously hurt. Belazar has
been ordered to have no contact with the children for
now while the case goes through family court. That's your
Front Page. I'm Mimi Brown. This podcast was brought to
you by the Black Effect Podcast Network.
Tennessee tried to execute the only woman on its death
row this week, but something went seriously wrong.
Speaker 2 (00:12):
I would say that Pike appeared notably awake.
Speaker 1 (00:14):
And now the governor has stopped executions for the rest
of the year. And a Utah man sentenced to die
for murder is walking free after more than four decades
behind bars as questions continue to grow about the case
against him.
Speaker 3 (00:27):
Today was the first day he's walked outside without being
shackled hands and feet.
Speaker 1 (00:32):
And a Florida mom went on a three-day cruise to
the Bahamas. Police say there was just one problem. She
left her four children home alone.
Speaker 4 (00:40):
It says she went on a cruise and left her
children home alone. Including a two-month-old baby. She was going
to drop them off at the mother's house, but never did.
Speaker 5 (00:48):
These poor kids were home alone for three days.
Speaker 1 (00:52):
I guess there's probable cause for child neglect. It's Friday,
October 2nd. From the Black Effect Podcast Network, I'm Amy Brown.
This is Front Page, and here are the day's biggest stories.
Stay with me. Tennessee is reviewing its execution process after
(01:12):
Krista Pike survived two doses of lethal injections Wednesday night.
Pike is the only woman on Tennessee's death row and
would have been the first woman executed in the state
in more than 200 years. Witnesses say after the first dose,
she was still awake and responding. The state then gave
her a second dose, and she was still alive.
Speaker 2 (01:32):
I would say that Pike appeared notably awake as the
execution began. The curtains of the execution chamber closed for
the final time at around 8.06 p.m., and she could
be heard loudly snoring, clearly very alive, in the chamber
until media witnesses were told to leave the area.
Speaker 1 (01:52):
Pike was eventually taken to the hospital. And this is
what makes this case so unusual. People have survived execution
attempts before when officials couldn't get the drugs into their system.
But the Death Penalty Information Center says there is no
known cause of someone receiving the execution drugs and surviving.
(02:12):
It is also the second execution Tennessee has failed to
carry out this year. Governor Bill Lee has now ordered
an independent review and says there will be no more
executions in Tennessee for the rest of the year. The
state says it followed its protocol. Pike's attorneys say what
happened shows there are serious problems with that protocol and
that the execution caused unnecessary suffering. Pike was sentenced to
(02:35):
death for the 1995 murder of 19-year-old Colleen Slimmer. And
a 71-year-old black man who spent 41 years behind bars,
most of them on death row, is now free while
prosecutors reassess the murder case against him. Douglas Carter was
(02:55):
charged in the killing of Eva Olson in Utah in 1985,
but his conviction was overturned after investigative misconduct was uncovered.
Two key witnesses later recanted, and Carter has long said
his confession was coerced. And now new DNA testing found
Carter is not a match for DNA recovered from key
evidence at the crime scene. His attorney, Neil Hamilton, says
(03:19):
Carter could have been executed before any of this evidence
came to light.
Speaker 3 (03:23):
Today was the first day he's walked outside without being
shackled hands and feet. He hasn't seen the sky. He
hasn't tasted fresh air. He's going to have to relearn
to live his life. He doesn't know anything about our society,
anything about our world. The world Doug walked into is
not the world he walked out of when the States
stole his life.
Speaker 1 (03:44):
Carter walked out of jail Monday night and was met
by his son, Tyler anger, who talked about the simple
things they want to do together after 41 years.
Speaker 6 (03:53):
I want him to have a cup of coffee that
I brought him. Hopefully it's still kind of hot. Hopefully
he doesn't get too jittery cause it's been a while. Um,
I want him to see the stars. I'd like for
him to just get a life that we all get
to live.
Speaker 1 (04:08):
Now Carter has not been exonerated, the murder charge is
still pending, and prosecutors are reassessing the evidence. But they
have taken the death penalty off the table. Carter is
out on bail with a GPS monitor, and his attorneys
are now pushing prosecutors to drop the murder charge altogether.
(04:32):
And a Florida mother is facing four counts of child
neglect after police say she left her four children home
alone and went on a three-day cruise to the Bahamas.
Natalie Belazar is 29 years old. Her children range in
age from two months to 12 years old. Police say
the children's father became suspicious after seeing a cruise ticket
(04:52):
on her WhatsApp story. Belazar allegedly told him the kids
were staying with their great-grandmother. But two days later, he
went to the apartment and saw the TV on and
heard the children inside. He called 911. Police forced their
way in and found all four children alone in the bathroom.
Their great-grandmother told investigators Belazar was supposed to drop the
(05:14):
kids off with her, but never did. She was arrested
when the crews returned to Miami. And at her bond hearing,
the judge had plenty to say after reading the allegations
against her.
Speaker 4 (05:25):
It says she went on a cruise and left her
children home alone. Including a two-month-old baby.
Speaker 5 (05:30):
She's going to drop them off at the mother's house,
but never did. These poor kids, we're home alone for
three days. I guess there's probable cause for child neglect.
Speaker 4 (05:40):
We're just grateful nothing worse happened to these kids. Judge Ms.
Belizer denies these allegations. Of course she does. One baby,
the baby was born in July of this year. Who
leaves a baby alone like that? You would agree to
supervised visitation. I don't think I want to do that.
Who leaves a kid, four little kids alone? Judge, it's
an allegation at this time. To go on a cruise.
(06:01):
They arrested her disembarking from the cruise ship.
Speaker 1 (06:03):
Police say the children were not seriously hurt. Belazar has
been ordered to have no contact with the children for
now while the case goes through family court. That's your
Front Page. I'm Mimi Brown. This podcast was brought to
you by the Black Effect Podcast Network.
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