A Tennessee judge on Wednesday ordered the state to preserve evidence connected to Christa Pike’s failed execution, granting an emergency request from the death row inmate’s attorneys as questions mount over what went wrong during the lethal injection attempt. Chancellor I’Ashea Myles of Davidson County Chancery Court directed Tennessee officials to preserve a broad range of evidence from the September 30 execution attempt, including medical supplies, restraints, photographs, video and audio recordings, execution records and communications involving state officials. The ruling came during an emergency hearing requested by Pike’s legal team.
Her attorneys had argued that preserving the evidence was essential to determining what happened when Tennessee attempted to execute Pike and to protecting her legal rights in potential future litigation. Pike, 50, survived the execution attempt after receiving two doses of pentobarbital. She was taken to a Nashville-area hospital in critical condition and suffered severe injuries to her arms.
Her attorneys said Tuesday that she had regained consciousness and was able to speak. Wednesday's order gives Pike's lawyers a formal preservation requirement covering evidence that could otherwise become difficult to obtain. The judge specifically directed the state to preserve communications concerning decisions made during the execution attempt, including the decision to summon emergency medical services and the decision to halt the second attempt.
The state had argued that a new preservation order was unnecessary because Tennessee Department of Correction officials were already required to preserve relevant materials under existing court orders. Assistant Attorney General John W. Ayers said the state had begun taking steps to preserve evidence and characterized a new order as premature.
Myles nevertheless ordered the state to preserve the materials, warning officials to take special care that evidence was not lost, misplaced or accidentally deleted. Among the physical evidence identified by the state are execution logs, observation logs, medical waste and products, and electrocardiogram readouts. Officials also said photographs had been taken of the execution chamber after the attempt.
Some portions of the intravenous lines used during the execution may be in the custody of the hospital to which Pike was transported. Pike's attorneys have sought access to the syringes and other equipment used during the execution, including materials that could help establish how the lethal drug was administered. reported that her lawyers have focused on the possibility that problems with the IV lines prevented the pentobarbital from entering her bloodstream properly. The failed execution has already triggered significant action by Tennessee officials.
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