Teen Murderer Christa Pike Is AWAKE!
00:00 She is very aware that the state tried to execute her. Krista Pike was supposed to be dead, but she's not. She's very much alive and awake. Her execution was botched, and now her attorneys are fighting to preserve everything related to that night. We are asking the state to preserve evidence of Ms. Pike's botched execution. I'm Ann Jeanette Levy, and this is crime fix. She's alive. She's awake, and Krista Pike is actually talking.
00:36 that's the official word from convicted murderer Krista Pike's legal team. That update that Pike was conscious and able to speak came nearly a week after Tennessee prison officials tried to carry out Pike's execution but failed. Pike was given two doses of pentobarbital as required by protocol, which were expected to kill her. But instead, Pike complained of arm pain. She asked whether it should feel that way. And she said that her arm felt like it was going to burst. media witnesses said that she began to laugh and then she was snoring. The execution was botched. Krista Pike did not die for the murder of Colleen Slemmer. Pike is the first person in U.S. history
01:21 to survive a lethal injection after the drugs actually entered her body. Pike was taken to the hospital and on Tuesday her lawyers reported that Pike, nearly a week after the attempt to execute her failed, had regained consciousness. On Monday night, it was our understanding that Krista was brain dead and that life support would be removed the next day. But on Tuesday, to the shock of everyone, including me, including her team, and including the medical team, Krista woke up and began talking. I do not have an explanation for what happened between Monday night and Tuesday morning. But what we do know is that Krista has a long road to recovery.
02:03 She has a blood clot in one of her arms. She has pneumonia. She is not able to swallow yet, so she is not eaten. She cannot move either of her arms. Both of her arms and hands are tremendously swollen, and we do not know what, if any, function, she will regain in her arms, but we do know that there's a long road ahead.
02:27 And that is just the physical toll that all of this is taken. I was not in the room when she woke up, so I don't want to speculate too much. Our understanding was the first thing she said was, where am I and who are you? There's still a lot of cognitive confusion, and so I will say that. She has wanted to know what's happened, and she's asked about several people. She's asked about her team. She's asked about the victim's family. Like, she is, I think she is angry and confused about everything right now.
03:07 She is very aware that the state tried to execute her. Now, before Krista Pike's lawyer spoke on the courthouse steps, they were in the courtroom, arguing that evidence from her botched execution should be preserved. The parties met and conferred on this issue yesterday before the state filed its response in an effort to try to come to an agreement, narrow down some of these categories of evidence. And the state stated to Ms. Pike's counsel, as it stated in the briefing, that the state believes that these orders are to be construed broadly by their own terms, and they direct T-Doc to preserve all evidence. But isn't that federal court litigation in this state court litigation? So can the court adopt basically a secondary source that it would not adopt in regular jurisprudence to rely on for its orders? Can the court really take a federal order and apply it to the state court litigation?
04:12 Or does this case need its own order? This case does not need its own order. Again, Your Honor, because the evidence is the evidence. It must be preserved under that order regardless of what other litigation comes in the future. In fact, that's why the order is written the way it is to specifically contemplate future litigation. running a business is tough enough, but why make it even harder doing things manually or relying on dozens of apps that don't talk to each other? Odu is an all-in-one business management platform with a full suite of integrated apps that seamlessly connect all of your operations from sales and accounting to manufacturing and even shipping. Odu can automatically generate professional sleek-looking sales orders, invoices, and vendor bills.
05:02 and it can automatically assign sales teams, send email updates through each sales stage, and even uses AI to pull reports that help with your decision making. For manufacturing, their apps can sync inventory with real-time production and purchase updates so you never run out of stock. And when it comes time for accounting, that's also fully automated. Odu can create invoices, track expenses, and even summarize data with AI to save you hundreds and hundreds of hours. and the best part, you can choose your apps and even build custom workflows, so it's all fully tailored to your business's needs.
05:39 Take your business to the next level by consulting with an Odu expert today for free at Odu.com slash crime fix. Tennessee Governor Bill Lee announced 33 pardons and one commutation at the end of August, so he's not opposed to granting pardons or commutations. However, in Krista Pike's case, so far the governor has seemed resistant to, to Pike's defense team's calls for a commutation of her sentence from death to life in prison without parole. Governor Lee has been quoted as saying, my responsibility is to uphold the sentences that Tennessee juries have handed down even when it's difficult. And that is exactly what we intend to do in the days ahead. The people of Tennessee have determined that the death penalty is the appropriate penalty for the most heinous crimes in the state.
06:27 The people of Tennessee make that decision. and my job is to make sure then that those sentences are carried out. Governor Lee's likely successor, U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn said, The answer is simple. Bring back the electric chair and deliver justice for these victims swiftly. So Marsha Blackburn wants to bring back the chair. Colleen Slemer's mother, May Martinez, told WBIR she isn't counting on the state to finish the job. She said it doesn't matter what I think they're going to do what they're going to do. Martinez says if prison officials try to execute Pike again, she thinks the result could be the same.
07:06 But that remains a question. Will the state of Tennessee try to execute Krista Pike again? Did they save her life just to try to carry out the death penalty at a later time? The U.S. Supreme Court has not ruled on whether a second execution attempt would violate the Constitution since 1947. And will Krista Pike pursue new litigation after trying to stop her execution by lethal injection previously. There was a verified complaint submitted originally here in January. Part of the issue that we are facing is up until yesterday, our client was unconscious, unable to communicate with counsel, unable to communicate with her medical providers, and without her consent, we are not able to bring a new lawsuit.
07:54 And so Ms. Pike, as it's been widely reported, regained consciousness yesterday and is speaking limitedly. And so, you know, obviously, I think the original complaint stands, but, you know, we are not, we have not been authorized by our client to pursue a new cause of action. So right now, Krista Pike's defense team says she's in no condition to make decisions about litigation despite surviving the attempted execution. Her attorney quoted from the complaint he filed when arguing for his request to preserve evidence. Paragraph 40, the use of pinto barbitol and lethal injections causes flash acute pulmonary edema
08:36 as it enters the bloodstream and passes through the lungs and burns the membranes of the lungs. The drowning sensation is one of the most powerful excruciating feelings known to man. Paragraph 41, the injection of pinto barbitol itself can cause extreme pain upon injection. It can also, quote, damage the veins in the body causing the drug to leak into the surrounding tissues causing significant excruciating pain. Paragraph 42. Pento barbitol is a barbitur that causes unresponsiveness but not unconsciousness. As a result, even if a prisoner appears drowsy upon injection of the pentobarbital, they are sharply awakened with the sensation of drowning and are very likely conscious and being tortured as they are executed. On page 15, paragraph 58.
09:22 The plaintiff, referring to Mrs. Pike, has a history of difficulty with blood draws and needle insertion. Prison medical staff often use a butterfly needle on her arm to draw blood because her veins are so difficult to access. The Tennessee Attorney General's Office argued on behalf of the state. So help me understand why you believe that these claims are no longer just issuable? The reason, Your Honor, is because all of the prayers for relief were directed at an event that is now in the past. a person cannot be executed in the state without an order of the Tennessee Supreme Court. There is no pending execution order for Ms. Pike. There is no allegation that one is coming.
10:04 And so given that all of these requests for relief are targeted at a past event that is come and gone, there is no relief to grant. But you're also not in the position to say that tomorrow a new execution order will not be presented. Is that correct? Your Honor, that is with the case. the purview of the Tennessee Supreme Court. Okay. Assistant Attorney General John Ayers claims evidence is already being preserved.
10:30 A couple other things in the way of the current status because this is an evolving situation. T-Doc has advised us that evidence, physical evidence was collected from the execution chamber on the night of September 30th and has been logged into a preservation room. Among the things collected are log books, observation logs, medical waste and products, EKG readouts. I will say there may be some equipment that the plaintiffs are seeking in this motion that may not be in T-Dox possession. Specifically, it's my understanding, that the, it's my understanding that the, the IV lines were cut, and so there may be portions of those IV lines that could have been
11:26 still attached to Ms. Pike when she was transported to the hospital. And I say that just to draw the court's attention to the issue we raised in our briefing, that TDOT can't be ordered to preserve evidence that's in the custody of another party. In the end, Krista Pike's team won the motion to preserve evidence. So this case is unique to say the least. I am quite sure that at least in the procedural posture that the parties in this court find themselves, it was not something that could have been anticipated. In light of the evolving situation, the court will pin and grant its own order, granting the motion to preserve relevant evidence.
12:23 As a primary matter, we want all drugs, syringes, IV lines, tubing that are within the state's possession, needles, catheters, medical supplies, restraints, gurneys, anything that was in the actual room needs to be preserved and maintained. That would include waste, all packing, labels, inserts, anything in regards to the actual drug that was used needs to be maintained and preserved, as well as any supplies that would have come from whatever manufacturer administering those products. All photographs, video recordings, audio recordings, any surveillance footage of of the execution will need to be. maintained anything going on in the witness rooms recording rooms any recording of that evening September 30th and will need to be preserved and
13:35 maintain all handwritten notes and logs checklist timelines incident report witness accounts any persons who were assigned to the to the execution at that day emails, text messages, anything in signal that would have not already have some type of encryption and or disappearing mechanism will need to be preserved. I also want encrypted communications or other communications concerning the events of September 30th. All documentation, communications, anything concerning the deviation of deviation from the protocol, anything concerning any complications, delays, equipment issues, anything in regards
14:33 to the ability to access veins, just the administration of this particular execution, it needs to all be maintained. And frankly, the state will have no problem doing this because you all are already doing that, as Mr. Ayers has said. Any medical records that would be in the state's possession, monitoring records, time logs, any documentation reflecting her psychological condition before, during, and prior to the events of September 30,
15:12 any policies, protocols, training manuals, directives, internal guidelines, and or procedures that may have been referenced in regards to the events of September 30th. Chancellor Miles' order went on much longer than what I just showed you. She's essentially saying everything has to be preserved, even encrypted communications in apps. Miles also granted a request that Krista Pike be allowed to talk with her lawyers on a tablet that she uses in prison. Access shall be given as it would be. if she were incarcerated at the women's prison.
15:54 I'm not quite sure what the on and off valve is as far as what goes into the process of determining when an attorney may speak with their client. But what I would say, just because Ms. Clark is currently in a hospital, does not mean that she should have any less access to her attorney than she would. when she is in the women's prison. So if there have been any barriers, I understand that she was unable to communicate before, now that she is, the same protocols that would have been followed
16:40 while she is incarcerated at the women's prison should be followed there. And if you will have set up an email communication, I want Mr. Clark on that email as well. And then I would like a two-hour response time from prison officials as to whether or not visitation will be allowed. Now, after the win in court, Krista Pike's lawyer spoke on the courthouse steps. Today's hearing was about transparency, about why Krista, the courts, the media and the public should not simply take the state's word about what happened last Wednesday. because as we saw a little bit today, their word is shrouded in secrecy, in legal jargon
17:27 in attempts to obfuscate and obscure what really happened. We appreciate you all sharing these concerns. We encourage you all to use the tools at your disposal to keep pushing for information from the Department of Corrections. We encourage you to ask questions not only of us, but of the state. of TDOC, of the Attorney General's Office, of the governor, to figure out what really happened last week. As we said today, the state has an obligation to preserve that evidence. We don't know what future claims Krista might raise. We don't know if the state's going to attempt to execute
18:06 her again. You know, we've certainly warned them that this exact thing would happen. And so the request today that the judge granted was just to preserve all that evidence, to preserve her her constitutional right to be free from cruel and unusual punishment should that need arise in the future. Randy Spivey, one of Krista Pike's federal public defenders, also spoke. Neither we nor Krista have even begun to process what this means for her mental health. Krista was at peace. She helped the execution team find what they thought was Vainous Access. She was kind and polite as they worked for an hour stabbing her arm with needle after needle.
18:45 and then she felt the burn of the pen of barbitol. And then she woke up in a hospital surrounded by people she didn't know with a tube down her throat. We don't know the toll all of this will take. But Krista is a survivor and we remain hopeful. All of this was foreseeable and foreseen. What happened to Krista is exactly what the state was warned would happen. And there are so many questions that need to be answered. Not by Krista, but by the state of Tennessee.
19:19 But one of those questions has to be how much suffering is enough. Krista has endured child sexual abuse, physical abuse, rapes, and more than 20 years of solitary confinement, and then September 30th happens. We have to ask how much suffering is enough. We continue to ask Governor Lee to commute Krista's death sentence. So Krista Pike remains in the hospital. her arms and hands are swollen and she has pneumonia. And as far as we know, there's no plan to commute her sentence. The story is far from over.
19:53 So stay tuned. And that's it for this episode of Crime Fix. I'm Ann Janette Levy. Thanks so much for being with me. I'll see you back here next time.
There aren't comments yet for this episode. Click any sentence in the transcript to leave one.