Tennessee officials remain tight-lipped about whether Christa Pike will face the death penalty again. Assistant Attorney General John W. Ayers told the court there is no current order. “There is no pending execution order for Ms. Pike and there is no allegation that one is coming,” Ayers stated to the judge. Yet the state refuses to promise it will not happen later.
When Judge L’Ashea Myles asked if the execution would never be rescheduled, Ayers gave a short answer. “I can’t answer that question,” he replied. This leaves Pike, who survived two failed attempts, in a strange legal limbo. She is now awake and speaking in the hospital after the botched procedure last week.
The situation is entirely new for the state and the courts. Pike was supposed to be executed on September 30, becoming the first woman put to death in Tennessee in over 200 years. Instead, she survived the lethal drug injection. Doctors told NBC News that the pentobarbital entered her arm rather than her bloodstream. While the medication induced sleep, it did not halt her heart or reduce her breathing rate.
Experts say the courts have never dealt with this specific scenario before. Robin Maher of the Death Penalty Information Center told USA Today that “We’re in uncharted territory.” He observed that the US Supreme Court has not ruled since 1947 on whether a second execution attempt violates the constitution. Those are the questions no one has ever had to ask until now.
Her lawyers are pushing to keep any evidence from the failed attempt. “Today’s hearing was just a first step of many to preserve and enforce Christa’s constitutional rights after this unprecedented botched execution,” attorney Luke Ihnen said. They are not asking for the evidence to be handed over yet. They just want the state to keep it safe so experts can see what went wrong.
For over 30 years, Christa Pike has remained on death row. She was convicted for the murder of her classmate, Colleen Slemmer, when she was just 18. Governor Bill Lee has not ruled out putting her to death again, even though he has resisted pleas to commute her sentence. All other executions in Tennessee this year are suspended.
Her medical team expects a long road ahead. Attorneys Randy Spivey and Kelly Gleason said in a statement, “At a minimum, we expect a long recovery.” Another lawyer added that she is currently “speaking limitedly.” No one knows exactly what she said when she woke up.
No assurances have been given by the state that Ms. Pike will avoid future execution. “These are questions that have never needed to be asked before and no one knows the answers,” Maher said. The legal battle to decide her fate has only just begun.
