Christa Pike Lawyer Alerts of Potential Missing Evidence in Botched Execution as IV Lines May Have Remained Attached to Killer During Hospitalization

A Tennessee assistant attorney general said some evidence from Christa Pike’s unsuccessful execution may not be in state custody, including parts of IV lines that were severed on the night of the botched execution attempt.

On Wednesday, October 7, Assistant Attorney General John W. Ayers told a Nashville court that portions of the IV lines could have remained with Pike as she was transported to the hospital.

Ayers said the IV lines “were cut” on the night of the execution attempt, Wednesday, September 30. He said, “There may be portions of those IV lines that could have been still attached to Miss Pike when she was transported to the hospital.”

The prison also collected evidence from the execution chamber that same evening, including observation logs, medical waste and products, and electrocardiogram readings, Ayers said.

“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 preservation room,” Ayers told the court, referring to the Tennessee Department of Corrections.

Ayers said that an additional court order would be “premature” because the department is already preserving the evidence. He said the department has already received instructions to preserve evidence relevant to a federal case involving another Tennessee death row inmate, and he said the state is working with Pike’s attorneys so they can “get the evidence that they believe they’re entitled to.”

Ayers indicated that some of the defense’s requests contained unclear language, including a request for “biological and chemical residue associated with the execution process,” and he requested additional time to allow both parties to confer, according to a report.

Davidson County Chancellor I’Ashea Myles agreed with Pike’s lawyers. “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 order includes photographs, video and audio recordings, and surveillance footage of Pike’s execution attempt. The state must preserve all drugs, syringes, IV lines and tubing in its possession. The order also includes handwritten notes, logs, checklists, timelines, incident reports, witness statements, 911 calls and communications among state officials.

Luke Ihnen, one of Pike’s attorneys, argued that this evidence would be pertinent if the state were to attempt another execution of Pike. Myles did not rule on the request to unshackle Pike’s hand or allow her access to a tablet while in the hospital, and she requested additional information from both medical staff and the state.

Pike’s legal team claims that because of problems with the IV lines, pentobarbital flowed into Pike’s body rather than her bloodstream. Her legal team’s motion stated that pentobarbital is “caustic and highly alkaline” and “burns upon contact,” and it further stated that both of Pike’s arms were “swollen, burned, and blistered” when she arrived at the hospital.

Pike’s attorney, Randy Spivey, said officials had difficulty setting the IV lines for over an hour and that Pike was “kind and polite” during that time. Pike, 50, survived two doses of pentobarbital and remains hospitalized.

Her attorneys have confirmed she’s now awake and able to speak, and according to one of them, her first words after waking up were, “Where am I?”

Pike was sentenced to death in 1996 for the 1995 killing of her fellow Knoxville Job Corps student, Colleen Slemmer.