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Pike remains hospitalized following the execution attempt, her attorneys said. A Tennessee judge granted a motion to preserve relevant evidence in the botched execution of Christa Pike.
The lone woman on Tennessee's death row survived being administered two lethal doses of pentobarbital and remains hospitalized following the failed Sept. 30 execution in Nashville, her attorneys said.
Pike was sentenced to death after being convicted of the 1995 murder of 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer . Her attempted execution by lethal injection came after a series of last-minute legal challenges.
Pike's attorneys had filed an emergency motion in Davidson County Chancery Court last week seeking an order requiring the Tennessee Department of Correction (TDOC) to protect and preserve "any and all evidence related" related to the execution attempt, which they allege was "cruel and unusual punishment." "In light of the manifest violation of Ms.
Pike's constitutional rights, the actionable nature of that violation, and the reasonable foreseeability of litigation, the Defendants have an affirmative duty to preserve all relevant physical, written, and electronic evidence," the filing stated.
Following argum ents from Pike's attorney and the state, Chancellor I’Ashea Myles granted the motion. "This case is unique, to say the least," she said.
"In light of the evolving situation, the court will pen and grant its own order, granting the motion to preserve relevant evidence." The evidence ordered preserved and maintained includes all photographs, video recordings, audio recordings and surveillance footage of the execution; all drugs, syringes, IV lines and tubing that are in the state's possession; and all handwritten notes and logs, checklists, timelines, incident report and witness accounts.
She also included all communications regarding the execution and "anything concerning the deviation" from protocol and "anything concerning any complications, delays, equipment issues, anything in regards to the ability to access veins -- just the administration of this particular execution.
It needs to all be maintained." Wednesday's hearing came a day after Pike's attorneys said she regained consciousness after the failed execution left her critically injured and temporarily on a ventilator.
During the hearing, one of Pike's attorneys, Luke Ihnen with the Federal Defender Services of Eastern Tenne ssee, told the court that she is "speaking limitedly." During arguments on preserving evidence from the botched execution, Ihnen told the court, "We don't know what they have because they won't tell us, and so the preservation order seeks the broadest possible preservation of evidence." "Everything they have in their possession should be preserved," he said.
"Before yesterday, we didn't know if Miss Pike was ever going to regain consciousness or speak. She has, and so we've come to this court," Ihnen said.
"We didn't have a reason to visit our client until yesterday, and so you know, it's evolving for all of us, and TDOC has continued to put up these barriers to access." Assistant Attorney General for the State of Tennessee Will Ayers told the court that the state is working with Pike's counsel to ensure that she is able to "get the evidence that they believe they're entitled to" and that TDOC has already been instructed to preserve evidence that is covered under a federal case involving another Tennessee death row inmate.
"TDOC has advised us that evidence, physical evidence, was collected from the execution chamber on the night of September 30th, and has been logged into a preser vation room," Ayers told the court.
"Among the things collected are logbooks, observation logs, medical waste and products, EKG readouts." Ayers said there are some items that may not be in TDOC's possession, such as portions of the IV lines.
"There may be portions of those IV lines that could have been still attached to Miss Pike when she was transported to the hospital," he said.
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