NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WTVF) — Two days after Tennessee's attempt to execute Christa Pike, her attorneys say she remains alive but unconscious in a hospital, raising new legal questions about whether the state can ever attempt to execute her again.
According to newly filed court documents, Pike is intubated, on a ventilator and receiving hospital treatment following what her attorneys describe as a botched execution. The filing also alleges both of her arms are swollen, burned and blistered as medical staff work to remove pentobarbital from her system.
Watch report from Amanda Roberts
The attorneys are asking a court to order the state to preserve evidence related to the execution. The filing says Tennessee has not yet responded.
The developments have prompted renewed scrutiny of Tennessee's execution procedures and whether Pike's constitutional rights were violated during the process.
"I've been dealing with these cases for 50 years. I've never seen anything like this," said Nashville defense attorney David Raybin, who helped draft Tennessee's current death penalty statute in the 1970s. "The state, I think, has a lot to answer for."
Raybin said the circumstances described by Pike's attorneys could support an argument that the state subjected her to cruel and unusual punishment, which is prohibited under the Eighth Amendment.
"What happened in Miss Pike's case was clearly cruel and unusual," Raybin said. "She survived the attempt. They tried to kill her twice. That's not justice for the victims. It's not justice for the defendant. It's not justice for the judicial system."
If Pike survives, Raybin believes Tennessee could face significant constitutional hurdles in seeking another execution date.
"I'm not suggesting she'll be free or walk around, but the state may be constitutionally prohibited from trying this again given the debacle that occurred," he said.
Pike's attorneys have indicated they are evaluating potential Eighth Amendment claims. They argue medical experts warned before the execution that Pike's rare blood condition could make it difficult to access her veins and increase the risk of complications.
One of Pike's attorneys said her greatest fear was never death itself.
"It was not a fear of dying. It was a fear of prolonged, painful, dramatic death," the attorney said. "That's what happened, minus the death."
The legal challenges may extend beyond whether the state can seek another execution.
If Pike survives, questions about her cognitive condition and competency could also become central to the case. Under longstanding legal standards, a person must be mentally competent before an execution can be carried out.
Attorneys also emphasized that the fallout extends beyond Pike.
"I cannot believe what this has been like for the family of Colleen Slemmer," one attorney said, referencing the victim's family.
For Raybin, the case highlights broader concerns about Tennessee's death penalty system.
"I cannot emphasize how catastrophic this is," he said. "This goes beyond the statute. This goes to the constitutionality of the execution procedure in her particular case."
As Pike remains hospitalized, the courts may soon be asked to decide not only her future, but whether Tennessee's handling of the execution requires a broader overhaul of the state's death penalty procedures.
Do you have more information about this story? You can email me at Amanda.Roberts@NewsChannel5.com
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