Christa Pike’s lawyers to appear in court after failed execution of US death row inmate

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Lawyers for US death row inmate Christa Pike are in court today asking a judge to order Tennessee to preserve all evidence from her botched execution last week

The emergency motion filed by her legal team could lay the groundwork for a future lawsuit against the state over how the failed execution was carried out

Pike's lawyers say she is now "conscious and speaking" after surviving two lethal doses of the drug pentobarbital – her lawyer says she continues to receive care while handcuffed in hospital

Pike was sentenced to death following her conviction for murdering Colleen Slemmer in 1995

Later: Her legal team are set to give a news conference following today's court hearing

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Edited by Johanna Chisholm, Sakshi Venkatraman and Kathryn Armstrong

While there is a lengthy history of botched executions across the US, Pike is believed to be the only person to have survived after receiving a lethal injection.

Deborah Denno, a criminologist and professor at Fordham Law School, said she was "absolutely astonished" that Pike is conscious and speaking.

There had been seven previous cases in which prisoners survived executions, but in those cases, executioners were not able to inject anything into the inmates' veins, Denno told the BBC.

Pike "is the only person for whom some kind of toxin has been injected", and then gone on to survive, she said.

The attempted execution of Pike was not the first in Tennessee in 2026 that did not go to plan.

The execution of Tony Carruthers, who was convicted of kidnapping and murdering three people in 1994, was postponed in May after staff were unable to find a vein for a lethal injection. He was granted a year's reprieve by the governor.

Shareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingStephanie HegartyBBC News

As we mentioned earlier, the hearing today is about preserving all documents and evidence from the execution attempt.

And there are questions being raised about those key moments after the lethal chemical was injected into Pike.

For instance, the curtain was closed to the execution chamber more than once and Pike’s lawyers and media witnesses have said they were not kept informed as to what was happening.

Last year, a group of news organisations sued the warden of Riverbend Maximum Security Institution in Nashville – where Pike's execution took place – and the state corrections commissioner, arguing that the press has a right to witness executions in their entirety.

Under the state's protocol, media witnesses could see only about 10 to 15 minutes of an execution. The curtains opened after the prisoner was strapped down and the IV lines were in place, and closed before death was pronounced.

In January, a Nashville judge ordered that the curtains stay open until the pronouncement of death.

But in April the Tennessee Supreme Court put that order on hold while the state appeals, so the older, more limited rules still applied at Pike's execution.

We could see this issue raised again today.

Shareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharing Pike, now 50, was sentenced to death in 1996 for the murder of 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer, which was perpetrated along with her then-boyfriend, Tadaryl Shipp.

Pike killed Slemmer at a camp for troubled teens after accusing Slemmer of insulting her and attempting to steal Shipp from her.

Two other residents at the camp later testified that Pike had bragged about the murder and showed them a piece of Slemmer's skull.

Shipp was given a life sentence with the possibility of parole, and he remains in prison. He was spared the death penalty for his part in the attack because he was not yet legally an adult at the time.

Colleen Slemmer was tortured and brutally killed by Pike and her then-boyfriend

Shareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharingJim ReedHealth reporter

Pentobarbital is used by doctors as a sedative or to control seizures, while vets use it to euthanise animals.

In high doses, it suppresses brain activity until breathing slows and the heart stops.

According to the Death Penalty Information Center, 29 prisoners have been executed by lethal injection in the US in 2026, eight of them using pentobarbital.

During Joe Biden's presidency, federal executions involving the drug were halted while officials reviewed concerns it could cause unnecessary suffering. Those resumed later under Donald Trump.

In May, the state execution of convicted murderer Tony Carruthers was postponed after staff were unable to find a vein to administer Pentobarbital.

Dr Joel Zivot, an anaesthesiologist advising Christa Pike's defence team, said she also had small veins and suggested some of the chemical may have entered the tissue beneath her skin rather than her bloodstream.

Shareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharing Image source, Tennessee Department of CorrectionPike was scheduled to be put to death in Tennessee on 30 September. The Supreme Court allowed the injections at the 11th hour after earlier appeals and delays.

She was given two injections of the drug pentobarbital, but her legal team said those failed to stop her heartbeat. Last week, lawyers said she was unconscious, intubated and on a ventilator.

But by late on Tuesday, her legal team said their client was now conscious and speaking.

During the execution attempt, prison officials tried to start intravenous (IV) lines by using at least seven needles on Pike, according to her lawyers.

While receiving the two doses, "she could be heard crying, whimpering, and breathing loudly", her lawyers said.

Shareclose panelShare pageCopy linkAbout sharing Lawyers for US death row inmate Christa Pike are in court this morning after reporting last night that their client is now "conscious and speaking" and expected to make a recovery, nearly a week after her failed execution.

The 50-year-old inmate survived two lethal injections of the drug pentobarbital and was later transferred to hospital in Nashville, Tennessee, for treatment.

In court this morning, her attorneys are asking a Tennessee judge to order the state to preserve all evidence from her botched execution – this includes drugs, syringes, IV lines, needles and other medical equipment used in the attempt.

A news conference from Pike’s attorneys is expected to follow, which you can follow by pressing watch live above.

We'll also bring you all the latest lines here.