A death row inmate, Christa Pike, survived two lethal doses of pentobarbital, regained consciousness six days later, and a judge has now ordered the state to preserve all evidence from the failed execution.
WEBDESK — MEDIABITES
In a case without modern precedent, Tennessee death row inmate Christa Pike has regained consciousness nearly a week after the state’s failed attempt to execute her, as a court moved Wednesday to ensure all evidence from the botched procedure is preserved.
Pike, 50, was administered two full doses of pentobarbital on September 30, yet survived. She was subsequently transferred to a hospital and received lifesaving medical care. Her attorney confirmed during a Wednesday court hearing that Pike is now conscious and “speaking limitedly.”
Judge I’Ashea Myles granted an emergency motion filed by Pike’s attorneys, ordering the state of Tennessee to preserve all materials related to the failed execution. The list of evidence to be preserved includes 911 calls made during the incident, all communications between state officials, medical supplies, restraints, gurneys, and any photo, video or audio recordings from around the time of the execution.
“I want you all to preserve all of that information,” Judge Myles said, warning the state administration to “take special care not to lose, misplace or accidentally delete” any information related to the case.
The judge acknowledged the situation was unique and could not have been anticipated.
Pike was sentenced to death for the 1995 beating and stabbing murder of classmate Colleen Slemmer, then 19 years old. She was set to become the first woman executed in Tennessee in 200 years.
The case has reignited urgent national debate over lethal injection as a method of execution, with serious questions remaining about what Pike endured during and after the procedure.
Legal proceedings are ongoing.
