Judge Orders State to Preserve Pike Execution Evidence

Needles, IV lines and medical labels — “anything that was in the actual room”  relevant to the failed execution of Christa Pike — must be immediately preserved, according to Chancellor I’Ashea Myles, along with related documentation and communication. It’s a win for Pike’s attorneys, who appeared in court Wednesday opposite state lawyers as both navigate unknown legal territory.

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“This case is unique, to say the least,” said Myles after arguments from both the state and Pike’s defense. “I’m quite sure the parties in this case find it is not something that could have been anticipated. In light of the evolving situation, the court will pen and grant its own order granting the motion to preserve relevant evidence: needles, catheters, medical supplies, IV lines, anything that was in the actual room needs to be preserved and maintained.”

Tennessee’s lurid failure became international news last week after Pike survived two lethal injection attempts. Press from across the country attended Wednesday's hearing in downtown Nashville. The debacle follows a string of disastrous executions under Gov. Bill Lee, who previously paused executions in 2022. On Friday, Lee suspended executions scheduled for the rest of the year. He will leave office in January after two terms as governor. Commissioner Frank Strada, who led the Tennessee Department of Correction, stepped down over the weekend. 

Arguments Wednesday focused mainly on preserving state evidence that could be crucial for future legal action. Language from Pike's attorneys indicates that they may pursue relief for her under the Eighth Amendment’s ban on cruel and unusual punishment.

Pike is currently being held in an undisclosed private medical facility. She is conscious and able to communicate, attorneys say, but cannot freely contact her lawyers and remains shackled against the requests of hospital medical staff. Assistant Federal Defender Luke Ihnen petitioned the Davidson County Chancery Court to remediate both hindrances, as well as to order the Tennessee Department of Correction to preserve evidence related to Pike’s attempted execution.

“We are frustrated that the information the state has is repeatedly and deliberately secreted away pursuant to secret statutes, pursuant to the whims of the TDOC,” Ihnen told the court. “We don’t know what they don’t have because they won’t tell us, so the order seeks the broadest possible preservation of evidence.”

Ihnen also requested legal guarantee that his legal team could freely contact and visit Pike, and a 48-hour notification if the state intends to move her to a different facility. 

“TDOC continues to put up roadblocks not only for providers at the hospital but for counsel,” Ihnen explained.

Having survived the execution attempt, Pike’s case now enters unique legal territory that each side tried to turn in its favor. Legal arguments referenced the case of Donald Middlebrooks, another death row inmate. 

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“There is no pending execution order for Ms. Pike,” said John W. Ayers, an assistant attorney general for the state of Tennessee, attempting to block Pike’s attorneys’ request. “There is no indication one is coming. Given all these orders are targeted at a past event, there is no order to grant.” 

Myles was skeptical, probing whether there might be a new order tomorrow, which state lawyers could not answer. Pike also has legal action pending in federal court. 

Pike's attorneys spoke to media outside the courthouse. They described Pike's dire physical condition, including extreme swelling in her arms and hands, and cast Wednesday's hearing as a first step in her legal recourse against the state of Tennessee.

"Christa is a survivor," attorney Randy Spivey told reporters. "She survived child sexual abuse. She survived rapes of multiple men. She survived a suicide attempt when she was 12, and she survived the state's attempt to execute her. She deserves answers about what was done to her, and the people of Tennessee deserve those answers too."