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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 - watch live above
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 lawyer tells the court she is speaking but limitedly after regaining consciousness on Tuesday and that a request by medical staff to have her shackles removed has been denied
She continues to receive care after surviving two lethal doses of the drug pentobarbital - read more about what this is
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
The state's lawyer, Will Ayres, is now addressing concerns raised by Pike's lawyers around visitation.
Pike's lawyers visited her in hospital yesterday, the state's lawyer notes.
To visit her again, which they have requested to do this afternoon, they will have to get approval from the prison warden.
There are unique concerns in keeping Pike and those around her safe, the state's lawyer adds.
Image source, ReutersWill Ayres is called back up by Chancellor I'Ashea Myles.
She asks him if it's correct that he's not in the position to say that a new execution order will not be presented tomorrow?
"I can't answer that question," Ayres says, noting how that is down to the Tennessee Supreme Court.
He says the parties are engaged in a process that governs what evidence will be preserved, and says they are working together to ensure the counsel for Pike is able to get the evidence that they believe they are entitled to.
He says the preservation of physical evidence is required by an order, and is being preserved by TDOC.
The question is, he says, is the evidence being preserved? And under the existing order, he notes, it must be.
Ihnen now requests that Pike be given phone access to speak with her legal counsel.
He says that the Tennessee Department of Correction (TDOC) "continues to put up roadblocks for not only the providers at the hospital but for the counsel".
"We are frustrated that the information that the state has is repeatedly and deliberately secreted away."
The legal representative adds that Pike is currently "shackled" to her hospital bed and he understands medical staff have asked for these shackles to be removed, but this has been denied by the TDOC.
Luke Inhen, Pike's lawyer, is continuing to argue for the preservation of evidence regarding her failed execution.
He tells the court that ahead of her execution, Pike's team had warned in court filings that she had conditions that could complicate a lethal injection, a method of execution that could cause "significant, excruciating pain".
Prison officials have had issues drawing Pike's blood or finding a vein in the past, which could have complicated the procedure, he notes.
“Based on what we know about Ms Pike's current condition, these allegations in the complaint” certainly seem “related to the botched execution”, Inhen says.
“The state has made no promises that Ms Pike will not be subject to a future execution," Inhen said.
Pike's lawyers say they have made broad requests for retention of evidence from the state, because, "we don't know what they have because they won't tell us".
The court has now moved to the matter of Pike's attempted execution.
Pike's lawyer Luke Inhen is asking the state to preserve evidence - such as IV lines, syringes, and other materials - from the execution attempt on 30 September.
"We have not asked the state to produce anything," he says. "We are asking the state to preserve evidence of Miss Pike's botched execution."
The state lawyer is now moving onto discussion of the motion to preserve evidence of the attempted execution.
Will Ayers says there is no case currently open for there to be any evidence collection for, and Pike's team has not previously asked for any discovery at court appearances.
The judge asks if this is a fair argument given that Pike had "something that was more pressing than discovering in an underlying case".
Ayers says the "rules must be followed".
Image source, ReutersWill Ayers, a lawyer for the state of Tennessee
Will Ayers, a lawyer for the state, is now speaking and notes how we are in an "unusual procedural position here".
Ayers and the judge are discussing whether she can exercise her authority in this case, with the lawyer saying: "This case is still pending before this court."
The pair also speak on how the case should move forward given the previous legal challenge was transferred to the Tennessee Supreme Court before being dismissed.
The judge says: "This court closed the case and now we're here."
Pike's lawyer Luke Inhen says that until yesterday, his client was "unconscious" and unable to communicate.
She regained consciousness yesterday, as has been widely reported, he says, but he tells the judge she is now only “speaking limitedly.”
Without her consent, they could not bring a new legal action. With Pike now conscious, they have not yet decided whether to pursue a new legal claim.
Pike's lawyer Luke Inhen and the judge are now discussing how this court, the Davidson County Chancery Court, can maintain its jurisdiction over Pike's case.
Previously, a challenge in this court by Pike was transferred to the state's supreme court because of lack of jurisdiction, and Pike's lawyers are trying to prevent this from happening again.
As we've reported, Pike's legal challenges have brought her case to several courts in the state of Tennessee and federally, including the US Supreme Court, which allowed her execution to move forward last week.
Image source, ReutersLuke Ihnen from Federal Defender Services of Eastern Tennessee
Judge Chancellor I'Ashea Myles is now in the courtroom as proceedings begin.
Luke Ihnen, one of Christa Pike's lawyers, is first to speak.
First, they are dealing with some procedural issues related to the case.
The judge must determine whether the court has jurisdiction over Pike's case before it can move forward.
Lawyers representing Christa Pike are now inside Davidson County Chancery Court in Tennessee and the hearing has begun.
We expect her legal team to ask the judge, Chancellor I’Ashea Myles, to order the state to preserve all materials from her botched execution on 30 September.
You can follow along here for key updates, and also watch live above.
We're soon going to be hearing from Christa Pike's lawyers, who will be asking a judge in Tennessee to have all the evidence from her botched execution on Wednesday 30 September preserved.
But before we turn our attention to court, here's a look back at what you need to know from the last seven days:
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.
Stephanie Hegarty
BBC 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.
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.
Image source, Family handoutColleen Slemmer was tortured and brutally killed by Pike and her then-boyfriend
Jim Reed
Health reporter
Image source, Getty ImagesPentobarbital 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.
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.
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.
