MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:
The Tennessee woman who survived an attempt at execution is awake and in the middle of an emotional legal fight. Christa Pike was convicted in 1996 of murdering Colleen Slemmer. Last week, prison officials injected Pike with two lethal doses of the sedative pentobarbital, and she lost consciousness but did not die. State officials have not said if they will try to execute her again. Catherine Sweeney at member station WPLN has this report.
CATHERINE SWEENEY, BYLINE: Attorneys representing Christa Pike won an early battle on Wednesday. A county judge ordered the state of Tennessee to preserve all evidence of the failed execution. Attorney Randy Spivey said his client is a survivor.
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RANDY SPIVEY: She survived child sexual abuse. She survived rapes of multiple men. She survived a suicide attempt when she was 12, and she survived the state's attempt to execute her. She deserves answers about what was done to her.
SWEENEY: The order keeps prison officials from discarding anything that would aid an investigation. The judge, I'Ashea Myles, listed off dozens of specific things the Department of Correction would need to keep, like IV tubes, needles and empty drug vials.
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I'ASHEA MYLES: I want to ensure that you all take special care not to lose, misplace, accidentally delete any information that may be pertinent to this litigation.
SWEENEY: Attorneys representing state prison officials want Pike's legal challenge thrown out. Will Ayers is one of them. During the hearing, he argued that the case is focused on Pike's execution attempt on September 30, an event that has come and passed.
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WILL AYERS: There's no showing that miss Pike is subject to execution again.
SWEENEY: The judge said she was skeptical.
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MYLES: Is the state prepared to take the position that Miss Pike will not be rescheduled?
AYERS: No, I can't answer that question, Your Honor. I'm not in a position to.
MYLES: But you're also not in the position to say that tomorrow, a new execution order will not be presented.
SWEENEY: The decision is ultimately up to the state's Supreme Court. It's unclear whether there's interest in doing so. Pike's legal team is seeking a commutation. In the meantime, Pike is still in the hospital with one hand and both feet shackled to her bed. Health workers are tending to burns, blisters and swelling in her arms, which her lawyers attribute to the lethal drugs having flowed into her flesh instead of her bloodstream. For NPR News, I'm Catherine Sweeney in Nashville.
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