Tennessee Blocks Access to Drugs From Failed Execution
Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti is seeking to prevent Christa Pike's lawyers from inspecting lethal injection drugs used in a botched September execution attempt.
Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti filed a motion on November 6 to block the legal team of death row inmate Christa Pike from inspecting and testing the pentobarbital used in her failed execution. The state argues that allowing the defense to handle vials or review labeling would reveal the identity of the drug supplier, violating state confidentiality laws and risking the loss of the provider.
Pike survived two doses of the drug during an execution attempt on September 30 at the Riverbend Maximum Security Institution. Her attorney, Luke Ihnen, contends that access is necessary to determine if the substance was expired or mishandled, noting that Pike suffered burns and blisters during the procedure. Ihnen stated that the legal team still does not know exactly what happened that night.
The failed execution led to the resignation of Tennessee Department of Correction Commissioner Frank Strada, who was replaced by interim commissioner Christopher Hansen. While Governor Bill Lee maintains that Pike will remain on death row, Governor-elect Marsha Blackburn has called for the state to explore alternative execution methods, including the electric chair. A Davidson County chancellor, who previously ordered the state to preserve evidence, will now decide whether to grant the state's request to restrict access to the drug.
