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Pike defense seeks delay in court hearing after Tennessee execution attempt
Christa Pike’s attorneys are asking for more time to prepare for an Oct. 23 hearing on what comes next after Tennessee’s Sept. 30 execution attempt failed. Pike was hospitalized and spent several days on life support before being discharged to a state rehabilitation center.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Attorneys for Christa Pike have asked a court for additional time to prepare for a hearing scheduled for Oct. 23, which is expected to address next steps after the state’s failed attempt to execute her on Sept. 30.
A court filing cited Pike’s condition following the execution attempt, including that she spent several days on life support. Her attorneys said she was discharged from the hospital on Oct. 10 and returned to the Deborah K. Johnson Rehabilitation Center, where she had been housed for more than 30 years.
Pike received two doses of pentobarbital during the attempt and was taken to the hospital. Her lawyers said her arms were swollen, burned and blistered. She was unconscious and on a ventilator before waking and speaking on Oct. 6, according to her attorneys.
The scheduled hearing would be the first since the failed execution. The available filing details did not specify how much additional time Pike’s attorneys are seeking or whether the Oct. 23 date will change.
A jury convicted Pike in 1996 of the 1995 murder of 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer in Knoxville. Pike was 18 at the time of the killing.