NASHVILLE (TCN) — Attorneys for Christa Pike appeared in court for a hearing following her failed execution attempt. According to the assistant attorney general, there is no pending execution order for her.
Pike, 50, was sentenced to death for the 1995 killing of her classmate Colleen Slemmer, according to the Tennessean. Her execution was scheduled for Sept. 30, and she was administered two lethal injections of pentobarbital.
Tennessee Governor Bill Lee paused an upcoming December execution in light of the failed attempt, per the Tennessean.
Pike was transported to a hospital for treatment and was unconscious for six days, according to The Associated Press. When she regained conscious, she was able to speak “limitedly,” her attorneys stated.
At a hearing on Oct. 7, Pike’s attorneys appeared before a judge to request that evidence from the failed execution be preserved, according to CNN. Evidence preserved from the chamber includes electrocardiogram readouts, logbooks, observation logs, medical waste, and medical products. The state confirmed that the Tennessee Department of Corrections also photographed the execution chamber on the night of Sept. 30.
Pike’s attorneys also asked to have unimpeded access to her while she remains hospitalized. According to her team, they had to wait several hours before they could see her on Oct. 6 and she is reportedly shackled to her bed, the Tennessean reports.
Assistant Attorney General John W. Ayers told CNN, “There is no pending execution order for Miss Pike. There is no allegation that one is coming.”
According to The Associated Press, the Death Penalty Information Center said Pike is the only inmate ever to survive a lethal injection execution.
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