Christa Pike, a death row prisoner who survived a failed lethal injection, has asked a federal court to prevent prison officials from moving her back to a former housing unit. She says the transfer could put her in danger.
Pike, 50, is recovering in solitary confinement in the infirmary at the Debra K. Johnson Rehabilitation Center in Nashville. In her emergency filing, she says she remains so physically weak that she would be unable to protect herself if returned to her previous unit.
She described the housing pod as a place where she had seen assaults involving inmates and guards, as well as people experiencing serious psychological distress. Pike says she fears she could not escape or defend herself if attacked in her current condition.
The motion also raises concerns about hygiene and the risk of further injury. Pike says she could be expected to clean and use a shower infested with cockroaches while she is still recovering, increasing the chance of infection.
Pike was sentenced to death for the 1995 killing of Colleen Slemmer, 19, who was taking part in a Job Corps training program in Knoxville. She was later convicted of trying to kill another inmate in 2001.
Pike was scheduled to become the first woman executed in Tennessee in more than 200 years. She survived an execution attempt on Sept. 30 after two doses of pentobarbital failed to kill her.
After the procedure failed, Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee temporarily halted executions while the state investigates.
