The botched execution of Christa Pike has thrust Tennessee's criminal justice system into uncharted territory. After state officials administered two lethal doses of the drug pentobarbital on September 30, Pike survived and was transported to a nearby hospital, where she was intubated. Six days later, her lawyers announced she was "conscious and speaking."
Tennessee Governor Bill Lee has ordered an independent investigation into what went wrong at the Riverbend Maximum Security Institution in Nashville and suspended all executions for the rest of the year. Pike, who has been on death row for 30 years for murdering Colleen Slemmer, now faces an uncertain future.
Doctor Joel Zivot, an anesthesiologist retained by Pike's defense team, suspects the lethal chemical spread under her skin instead of into her bloodstream. Due to the large dose, he stated it could take days or weeks for a clear picture of her health to emerge.
At a hearing on Wednesday, an attorney for Tennessee said the decision on scheduling a new execution date rests with the state's supreme court. Pike's lawyers are seeking to have her death sentence commuted to life in prison without parole. Governor Lee, who has the power to pardon Pike or commute her sentence, has not indicated the state's course of action.
Attempt to Execute Pike by Lethal Injection Again
The Tennessee Department of Correction could attempt to execute Pike again by lethal injection, but the state would likely face legal challenges based on constitutional protections against cruel and unusual punishment. "For the state to attempt to execute her again using the same methodology, they would have severe legal hurdles," said Tennessee-based defense attorney Stephen Ross Johnson.
Johnson noted that Tennessee had botched two executions in one year—Tony Carruthers' execution also failed in May—which could provide grounds for lawyers to argue broadly against the constitutionality of the state's lethal injection protocol. Pike's lawyers could also argue that a lethal injection is, as Johnson described, "unconstitutional as applied," meaning it is cruel and unusual specifically for Pike due to her medical condition. Pike's lawyers had warned before the execution attempt that she has small veins and thrombocytosis, a blood-clotting condition that would complicate the procedure.
Her medical condition combined with the state's botched execution would make it difficult for Tennessee to present a convincing legal argument for attempting lethal injection again, Johnson stated.
Attempt to Execute Her with a Different Method
Johnson, president-elect of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers, suggested the state might attempt an execution by a different method. This would require "additional legal hoops," including approval from the governor's office and potentially the state legislature.
Since Pike's survival, political leaders in Tennessee have called for alternative methods. Senator Marsha Blackburn suggested bringing back the electric chair, while Congressman Tim Burchett announced he had filed a bill to "bring back hanging."
Tennessee could potentially use the electric chair because Pike committed the murder in 1995, before the state changed its execution laws. However, she would need to waive her right to lethal injection in writing, meaning it would have to be her decision, according to Vanderbilt University law professor Chris Slobogin.
Given Pike's exact medical state is unknown, Slobogin noted there is a scenario where the state could be blocked from attempting to execute her again, regardless of the method. Executing someone mentally incapable of understanding why it is happening is also considered cruel and unusual punishment. Historically, this has applied to prisoners with dementia or psychosis, but experts have raised the possibility that Pike may have suffered brain damage.
Commute Her Sentence
Tennessee is currently taking a pause on capital punishment. Only one other execution was scheduled for this year after Pike's, which the governor has now postponed. Earlier, in May, the Carruthers execution was suspended for a year after state officials could not find a vein to administer the lethal injection.
"At a minimum, there's going to be some significant delay while this issue is studied by the state," said defense attorney Johnson, adding that Pike's health would also need to be studied. Slobogin suspects the governor will commute her sentence, especially if the investigation uncovers missteps by state officials. "If the investigation, in any way, shape, or form, suggests that the protocol was not followed, or is hard to carry out, that might be the easy way for him to go, given the complications with the execution and all the bad press," he said.
There is legal precedent for a death sentence to be commuted due to a botched execution combined with an inmate's poor medical state. The execution of Alabama death-row prisoner Doyle Hamm was called off after more than two hours of attempts to establish an IV line failed. The state abandoned the execution following a legal settlement related in part to his health. Hamm later died of natural causes.