--- title: 'Tennessee Court Orders Officials to Preserve Evidence from Failed Execution of Christa Pike, As She Regains Consciousness' description: 'On October 7, a Tennessee judge issued a broadly worded order requiring the state to preserve all evidence from the failed September 30 execution attempt…' canonical: 'https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/tennessee-court-orders-officials-to-preserve-evidence-from-failed-execution-of-christa-pike-as-she-regains-consciousness' section: news date: '2026-10-08T00:00:00-04:00' updated: '2026-10-08T12:30:47-04:00' source: 'Death Penalty Information Center' --- On October 7, a Tennessee judge issued a broadly worded order requiring the state to preserve all evidence from the [failed September 30 execution attempt](https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/news/tennessee-botches-another-execution-despite-earlier-warnings-from-attorneys-christa-pike-was-alive-hours-after-attempt-began) of Christa Pike. Her attorneys reported on October 6 that she has regained consciousness and is speaking, although her overall prognosis remains uncertain. Davidson County Chancery Court Judge I’Ashea Myles granted a motion filed by Ms. Pike’s legal team, which sought to prevent the loss of records and physical evidence from the botched execution. Judge Myles issued her order after determining that her court had jurisdiction, requiring the state preserve drugs, syringes, IV lines and other medical equipment, along with photographs, video and audio recordings, witness accounts, emails, and documentation of any complications, delays or equipment problems. Judge Myles said that if any evidence has been destroyed or erased, the Tennessee Department of Correction (TDOC) should try to recover it. Attorneys for the state argued that an order was unnecessary because TDOC had already collected and logged evidence from the execution chamber. Ms. Pike’s attorneys said they are not asking the state to turn over evidence, only to preserve it. Luke Ihnen, one of Ms. Pike’s attorneys, said the ruling was “just a first step among many” in enforcing Ms. Pike’s constitutional rights, noting the hearing “was about transparency.” Her lawyers have indicated they may file a lawsuit and said one could not be filed earlier because Ms. Pike was unconscious and unable to consent. Following the court hearing, Ms. Pike’s attorneys held a press conference, updating members of the media on her condition. Randy Spivey, another attorney for Ms. Pike, said, “Christa is a survivor...She deserves answers about what was done to her, and the people of Tennessee deserve those answers too.” Mr. Spivey explained that as of the evening of October 5 her team had been told that she was braindead and the hospital staff had intended on taking her off life support the following day. “To the shock of everyone,” Ms. Pike woke up on the following day and began talking. Her legal team could not explain how she woke up but noted that she would have a “long road to recovery.” She is unable to move her arms or swallow, has pneumonia, a blood clot in her arm, and they “do not know what function, if any, she will regain” in her arms. Her attorneys reported her arms are burned and blistered and that she is handcuffed to her hospital bed. The long-term prognosis is unclear, and her counsel continue to call on Governor Bill Lee to grant her clemency and commute her sentence to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. Ms. Pike had been scheduled for execution at 10am Central Time on September 30, but the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit issued a temporary stay to consider a new legal filing. The U.S. Supreme Court, with three justices dissenting, lifted that stay around 6pm CT. Media witnesses to Ms. Pike’s attempted execution said they were in the witness chamber for about 45 minutes before the curtains were lifted at 7:26pm to reveal Ms. Pike strapped to a gurney. She gave her final statement, and the execution team began injecting drugs. According to Tori Gessner of WKRN, Ms. Pike said, “My arm feels like it’s about to bust. One spot is really throbbing.” The curtains were closed at 7:46pm but reopened three minutes later. At 8:05pm, the curtains were closed again, and remained closed until witnesses were told to leave at 8:53 pm. Throughout the process, witnesses could hear Ms. Pike breathing and snoring. At a press conference outside the prison, media witnesses shared their observations and were interrupted by emergency vehicles arriving to take Ms. Pike to a local hospital. As outlined in the state’s new execution protocol, Tennessee prison officials administered two doses of pentobarbital, a short-acting barbiturate that should have resulted in her death, but witnesses said Ms. Pike continued breathing, snoring, and occasionally lifting parts of her body off the gurney. Shortly before midnight on September 30, Tennessee Governor Bill Lee announced that he would pause executions for the remainder of the year. One person, Gary Wayne Sutton, was scheduled to be executed later in 2026. “Carrying out a lawfully imposed sentence is among the State’s most serious responsibilities, and the people of Tennessee expect it to be done in a manner that is not only legal and constitutional, but is effective,” Gov. Lee said, adding that he is ordering a “comprehensive, third-party review” of Ms. Pike’s failed execution. An earlier pause and investigation in 2022, also initiated by Gov. Lee, resulted in the new one-drug protocol used in Ms. Pike’s execution. Emily Mae Czachor, [Christa Pike suffering from pneumonia, unable to move arms after botched execution, lawyers say](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/christa-pike-botched-execution/), CBS News, October 7, 2026; Emily Cochrane and Billy Witz, [Christa Pike’s Lawyers Say She Is Angry and Confused After Failed Execution](https://www.nytimes.com/live/2026/10/07/us/christa-pike-tennessee-execution), The New York Times, October 7, 2026; Violet Jira and Katie Mettler, [Judge orders Tennessee to preserve evidence in failed execution of Christa Pike](https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2026/10/07/judge-orders-tennessee-preserve-evidence-failed-execution-christa-pike/), Washington Post, October 7, 2026; [Christa Pike’s attorneys believed she was brain-dead before she woke up ‘to the shock of everyone](https://www.cnn.com/2026/10/07/us/live-news/christa-pike-court-hearing?t=1791398896279&post-id=cmuydslum000n3b6r5dhjqsfr),’ CNN, October 7, 2026.