New update on Christa Pike’s death sentence given by Tennessee governor
Tennessee Governor Bill Lee has spoken out on whether the state will try to execute Christa Pike again, following the failed attempt last month
The politician was asked on Wednesday (28 October) whether the state will try to execute the convicted murderer again, or if he would instead commute her sentence to life in prison.
Lee told WSMV: “As it relates to a particular individual like Christa Pike and her crime, she’s still incarcerated under the laws of the State of Tennessee.
"I suspect her sentence will be the same as before unless determined otherwise by the courts.”
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It comes after legal experts were split as to whether the 50-year-old could be executed again, outlining what arguments her legal team could make to prevent it from happening.
Austin Sarat, an Amherst College jurisprudence professor, told CNN Pike's team could say a second execution would amount to 'double jeopardy' - a legal defence in America which means someone can't be punished for the same crime twice.
This is because, unlike in other cases of botched executions, Pike was actually administered with the drugs meant to kill her.
"When the drugs begin to flow, the punishment has started, and I would say jeopardy attaches when the punishment starts – so you can’t do it again," Sahart said. "Now, others might say, ‘No, double jeopardy has to do when the punishment has been completed.’"
Robert Dunham, a professor at Temple University Beasley School of Law, said Pike's team could also appeal to her Eighth Amendment rights against cruel and unusual punishment.
He told CNN: "The mental health implications of having gone through this and having to face it again would, to a layperson, clearly suggest a heightened level of anxiety and terror in a second execution attempt."
Pike was sentenced to death in 1996 for a crime she committed at 18 - the 1995 brutal murder of her JobsCorp classmate Colleen Slemmer.
On 30 September, the state of Tennessee attempted to execute Pike; however, despite being injected with two doses of pentobarbital, she was shockingly still alive afterwards and was rushed to hospital.
She was unconscious on a ventilator for five days, and her attorneys didn’t expect her to survive.
On 6 October, Pike's lawyers revealed she had woken up and began talking.
Days later, she was discharged and is back at the Debra K Johnson Rehabilitation Centre, the women’s prison where she was housed for 30 years.
As reported by The Independent, her attorneys said: “She is grateful to the first responders and her medical team for their care in these extraordinary circumstances. She is continuing to receive medical care at the prison, and we will continue to track her recovery."
In the latest update on her health, which came on 21 October, her team said she's 'continuing to improve physically and is now able to walk more on her own,' as per TMZ.
Pike’s speech has also reportedly improved, and she's now able to communicate more clearly and form full sentences.
Her lawyers also urged that although she's making significant strides in her recovery, doctors are still trying to establish the extent of any lasting psychological and cognitive damage.
In a statement earlier this month, they said: "While her physical recovery has been remarkable, significant questions remain about the long-term effects of what she endured.
"Christa is dealing with the profound psychological trauma of having survived a failed execution, including the terror, pain and uncertainty of believing she was about to die."
The Tennessee Department of Correction has not yet confirmed exactly what went wrong in the attempted execution; however, medical and lethal injection experts who have commented on the situation have focused on whether a problem with the IV line caused the drug to pool in her tissue instead of entering her bloodstream.
Pike's lawyers have urged Governor Lee to commute her death sentence to life in prison without parole, saying: "She should never be subjected to another execution attempt," as reported by PBS News.
Lee has paused executions in Tennessee until the end of 2026 while officials are investigating what went wrong.
Topics: US News, News, Crime, True Crime
Madison Burgess