Judge orders Tennessee to preserve execution chamber evidence

Lawyers describe a ‘profound’ physical turnaround

Christa Pike, the 50-year-old Tennessee death row inmate who survived a failed lethal injection on September 30, has made a “profound” turnaround and is now able to walk with assistance, her lawyers said in a statement Thursday.

Pike’s legal team described her recovery as “remarkable” and said she is eating and has regained some movement in her arms, which were badly injured during the attempted execution. “Physicians are encouraged by her physical recovery,” the statement said.

After the September 30 execution attempt, Pike was taken to a hospital in critical condition after surviving two injections of the sedative pentobarbital. She is believed to be the only person to have survived an execution attempt by lethal injection.

Background on the 1995 murder

Pike was sentenced to death for the 1995 murder of 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer. She and her then-boyfriend Tadaryl Shipp had met Slemmer at a job training camp for low-income young people.

Pike was 18 and Shipp was 17 at the time. The two beat, tortured and killed Slemmer. Shipp was spared the death penalty because he was not legally an adult when the crime was committed; he remains in prison.

Lawyers describe ‘profound psychological trauma’

In Thursday’s statement, Pike’s lawyers said she is also dealing with what they described as “profound psychological trauma” from the failed execution.

“Christa is dealing with the profound psychological trauma of having survived a failed execution, including the terror, pain and uncertainty of believing she was about to die,” her legal team said.

Her lawyers said they do not know the full emotional and psychological toll of the execution attempt or how long it will take her to recover. They added that while she struggles to process what happened, she “continues to express concern for others, particularly the family of her victim Colleen Slemmer.”

Slemmer’s mother, who had been among those pushing for Pike to be put to death, has branded the failed execution a “mess.”

Judge orders evidence preserved for potential lawsuit

On Wednesday, Judge I’Ashea Myles ordered Tennessee officials to preserve all evidence related to the failed execution, which could lay the groundwork for a future lawsuit against the state.

Myles ruled that “anything that was in the actual room needs to be preserved and maintained,” including IV lines and syringes, as well as waste such as packaging, inserts and labels. The judge also demanded documentation on Pike’s psychological condition before, during and after the failed execution, and advised the state to take “special care” not to misplace or accidentally delete any information that may be pertinent to the case.

Governor pauses executions; commutation sought

Tennessee Governor Bill Lee has ordered a pause on all executions for the rest of the year and said he wants answers about what went wrong.

Pike’s lawyers have called on the governor to downgrade her punishment to life in prison without parole. Proponents of capital punishment have suggested using a different method to put her to death.

The case leaves open the question of whether Pike can face execution again, and if so, by what method.