NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — The Tennessee Supreme Court has appointed a special master to take a closer look at concerns surrounding the planned execution of death-row inmate Christa Pike.
Senior Judge Mark Ward will hold a hearing Aug. 11-14, according to Pike’s attorneys. Pike, the only woman on Tennessee’s death row, is scheduled to be executed Sept. 30.
The hearing comes as Pike’s attorneys continue challenging Tennessee’s lethal injection protocol, pointing in part to the state’s failed attempt to execute Tony Carruthers in May. That execution was halted after staff could not establish the required IV lines.
Pike’s attorneys argue she faces similar — and potentially heightened — risks because of a blood disorder and veins they say are small and compromised. The court order refers to Pike’s diagnosis as thrombocytosis and directs Ward to determine whether establishing an IV would be likely to cause serious illness or needless suffering.
Ward will also consider concerns tied to Pike’s history of sexual assault and asserted post-traumatic stress disorder. Her attorneys argue that moving her to Riverbend Maximum Security Prison, where male officers would observe her for two weeks before the execution, could cause severe psychological harm.
The judge will also review Pike’s proposed alternative methods of execution and whether the Tennessee Department of Correction must — or would be willing to — allow a clergy member or spiritual adviser inside the execution chamber.
Pike’s attorneys say hers is the first case approved to move forward under the Tennessee Supreme Court’s recently amended special-master process.
Pike was convicted at age 18 in the 1995 torture killing of another young woman while both were enrolled in a job training program for troubled teens. Her execution would be Tennessee’s first execution of a woman in more than 200 years.
Ward must submit his findings to the Tennessee Supreme Court by Aug. 21. Objections are due no later than Aug. 28.
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