Christa Pike, the 50-year-old death row inmate who survived a botched lethal injection on Wednesday, is being treated at a Nashville-area hospital where she is "intubated, on a ventilator, and remains unconscious," her lawyers have revealed.
Pike had been on death row for 30 years after being convicted of the 1995 murder of her Knoxville Jobs Corp classmate Colleen Slemmer. Medical staff attempted to administer two lethal doses of pentobarbital using at least seven needles, but the attempt failed, leaving Pike in critical condition.
Emergency motion filed to preserve evidence
On Friday, her lawyers filed an emergency motion seeking an order that the Tennessee Department of Correction protect and preserve all evidence related to the state's failed execution. The motion detailed the botched procedure, including a moment when Pike herself attempted to guide the IV team.
"At one point, Ms Pike herself offered guidance on where the IV team could attempt access; one needle was bent at a 90-degree angle when it was removed," the motion stated. Her lawyers said she was administered two sets of syringes of the lethal drug and could be heard crying, whimpering and breathing loudly throughout the process.
During the procedure, she said, "my arm feels like it's about to burst open," and at another point asked, "does this happen like that?"
Condition and legal action
When Pike arrived at the hospital, both her arms were swollen, burned and blistered from the drug. Her attorneys believe issues with the IV lines caused the pentobarbital to flow into her body rather than her bloodstream. They are seeking to have all evidence of the failed execution preserved to ensure accountability and protect Pike's legal rights.
"We are working closely with those closest to Christa to respect her wishes, safeguard her privacy and protect her rights as a patient during this extraordinarily difficult time," said Luke Ihnen, attorney for Pike with Federal Defender Services of Eastern Tennessee. "We ask that the public and the media respect that privacy as well."
Background and next steps
Pike, who was 18, received the death sentence in 1996 after she and her boyfriend, Tadaryl Shipp, stabbed and beat Slemmer to death on the University of Tennessee's Agricultural campus. According to investigators, the two carved a pentagram into Slemmer's chest, and Pike took a piece of her skull as a souvenir. Shipp, who was 17 at the time, was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole due to his age.
Pike would have been the first woman executed in Tennessee in over 200 years. She previously filed an appeal claiming her execution would result in cruel and unusual punishment because of her individual physical characteristics, including thrombocytosis, post-traumatic stress disorder and small veins. Her lawyers say her concerns were dismissed and branded as "speculation."
In 2024, Tennessee announced it was moving from a three-drug series for lethal injections to the single drug pentobarbital. Pike's case marks the second botched execution in Tennessee this year. Governor Bill Lee has put a pause on any additional executions for the year and ordered "a comprehensive, third-party review to determine exactly what occurred." The state's execution protocol calls for a secondary set of drug syringes to be administered "if the inmate is not deceased" after the first set, but it does not spell out what happens if the subject is alive after the second set.
