The move comes after Davidson County Criminal Court Judge I'Ashea L. Myles ordered the state to preserve evidence in a lawsuit filed by Pike's attorneys. While the Tennessee Department of Correction says it is complying with the broader preservation order, Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti asked the judge to rescind the portion that permits Pike's counsel to inspect, collect, and test any remaining pentobarbital from the September execution attempt.

"Pike's counsel and experts cannot be allowed to see, handle, or otherwise get the information on the leftover vials of pentobarbital from Pike's attempted execution," Skrmetti wrote in the filing.

An affidavit from an unnamed Department of Correction employee cited in the state's filing claims that the drug supplier would become identifiable if Pike's legal team handled the vials or reviewed their labeling, even with redactions. The employee said residue of the pentobarbital used in the execution is "most likely to be found" in those vials. The employee also warned that another supplier stopped communicating with the department in 2024 after its identity was exposed, and that the state would likely be unable to find replacement providers if it lost its current source.

Tennessee law prohibits public disclosure of any person or entity involved in procuring lethal substances or carrying out executions. States across the country have increasingly shrouded execution drug sourcing in secrecy, arguing it is necessary to protect suppliers from backlash and ensure continued access to the drugs.

Pike, 50, survived two doses of pentobarbital during her September execution. Her attorneys say the drug likely did not enter her bloodstream properly and instead pooled in her arms, leaving them burned and blistered. She was hospitalized on a ventilator for days and has since returned to prison, where she says she remains in constant pain.

Luke Ihnen, a lawyer for Pike, said publicly identifying the supplier "has never been the goal" of the litigation. He stressed that the defense needs to review how the pentobarbital was labeled and stored to determine whether there were problems with mixing, transportation, handling, or expiration.

"We still don't know exactly what happened that night," Ihnen said. "Those types of things are all valuable pieces of information about what went wrong."

A Department of Correction spokesperson declined to comment, citing pending litigation.

The failed execution has already had political repercussions. Correction Commissioner Frank Strada resigned in its aftermath, and Gov. Bill Lee named Christopher Hansen as interim commissioner. Lee has also tapped a former U.S. attorney to conduct an independent review and postponed the state's other scheduled lethal injection this year.

Pike's attorneys are asking Lee, a Republican who leaves office in January, to commute her death sentence to life in prison. He has said she will remain on death row unless a court determines otherwise. Meanwhile, U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn, the state's Republican governor-elect, has called for Tennessee to explore alternative execution methods, including the electric chair.

Pike was 18 when she and her boyfriend tortured and stabbed 19-year-old classmate Colleen Slemmer to death in 1995, making her one of the youngest women ever sentenced to death in the United States. Slemmer's mother traveled from Florida to witness the execution.

The legal fight over the drug evidence underscores the tension between government secrecy and the public's interest in understanding how the state carries out executions. As Pike's attorneys seek answers, the case could shape how Tennessee and other states balance supplier confidentiality against the rights of condemned prisoners to challenge the methods used against them.