NASHVILLE, Tenn. — A Davidson County court ordered Tennessee officials to preserve all evidence from Christa Pike’s failed lethal injection as Gov. Bill Lee’s statewide execution pause and third-party review continue through the end of the year.
Chancellor I’Ashea Myles said the state must keep drugs, IV lines, recordings, medical records, time logs and other materials from the execution room and take special care not to lose, misplace or accidentally delete information that may be pertinent to the litigation.
Pike woke up days after the Sept. 30 attempt at Riverbend Maximum Security Prison. Attorney Randy Spivey said she asked where she was, has cognitive confusion, a blood clot, pneumonia and severe swelling in her arms and hands and cannot swallow food on her own. She is aware the state tried to execute her and asked about Colleen Slemmer’s family.
Knoxville attorney Marcos Garza said the motion sets up two legal tracks: arguing for sentence commutation and supporting a possible civil rights case claiming Eighth Amendment violations. He said courts usually favor preserving evidence and that missing records could still favor the defense.
Pike was sentenced for the 1995 murder of 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer. Her lawyers had warned about vein-access problems before the attempt. Lee paused all executions through the end of the year while the independent review proceeds.
Garza said he would find it hard to believe the state could devise and carry out another reliable execution method within a year, noting the Legislature has not written a new law on alternative methods.
