Tennessee’s botched execution survivor Christa Pike remains so badly injured that she requires round-the-clock medical care — and the state is fighting her demands to move into a more comfortable prison unit, new federal court filings reveal.
More than five weeks after surviving two lethal injections, the convicted killer is still being closely monitored by doctors who cannot say when she will be well enough to leave the prison infirmary.
In a blistering response filed Wednesday to Pike’s emergency transfer motion, Tennessee officials urged a federal judge to reject Pike’s Pike’s emergency motion to be transferred out of the medical unit, arguing that her injuries and maximum-security status make the move both dangerous and inappropriate.
“[Pike] thinks she knows better than her treating providers and [Tennessee Department of Corrections] officials about how to treat her medical needs while keeping her safe and secure,” state attorneys claimed in the filing.
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The 50-year-old death row inmate, who was sentenced to die for the brutal 1995 murder of 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer, has been recovering from the botched execution in the infirmary at Debra K. Johnson Rehabilitation Center in Nashville, since returning from a private hospital on Oct. 9.
Her lawyers claim the state is violating a 2024 settlement agreement by keeping her isolated from other prisoners, depriving her of group meals, recreation, work and social interaction. The state, however, disputes those claims.
“Pike is not isolated or singled out for poor treatment. On the contrary, she has received visits from counsel and her spiritual advisor, and she is subject to the same visitation policies and procedures as any other inmate in the infirmary,” Tennessee’s filing said.
Her spiritual adviser has previously been identified as the Rev. Mikey Noechel, a Buddhist teacher at East Nashville’s Wild Heart Meditation Center who said before the execution attempt that he planned to accompany her into the death chamber.
“We’ll be walking in with this practice of loving kindness, blessing the whole room with loving kindness,” he told WPLN in September, before the procedure ended in a botched execution.
Dr. Eduardo Ortiz, chief medical officer for the Tennessee Department of Correction, said in a sworn declaration obtained by The Post that Pike’s condition requires constant access to medical personnel and equipment.
Ortiz said Pike is assessed daily but acknowledged he cannot provide an exact date for her discharge from the unit.
Pike survived Tennessee’s Sept. 30 attempt to execute her after prison officials administered two doses of the lethal drug pentobarbital.
Her lawyers have since reported burns, nerve damage, cognitive difficulties and severe psychological trauma.
The state says Pike wants to be housed in Unit 3A, an assisted-living area where inmates with mobility difficulties and other medical needs can receive assistance while interacting with other prisoners.
However, officials argue the unit is effectively a nursing home, not a hospital, and is incapable of providing the intensive treatment Pike currently requires.
The extraordinary dispute comes as Tennessee faces scrutiny over its failed execution procedure, which prompted Gov. Bill Lee to halt further executions through the end of the year pending a review.
Pike’s death sentence still stands, with no new execution date yet announced.
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