State AG seeks to block defense team's access to lethal drug evidence

Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti filed a motion on November 6 to limit the access of Christa Pike’s legal team to the lethal drug used in her failed execution. The filing asks a Davidson County chancellor to revise an existing evidence preservation order.

Skrmetti’s motion specifically requests that the court remove provisions allowing Pike’s attorneys to inspect and test the remaining pentobarbital. The state contends that the labels on the drug vials contain data that could identify the supplier. Under Tennessee law, the identity of the drug supplier is considered confidential information.

The dispute centers on the proper handling of the substance. Pike’s attorneys argue that their goal is not to uncover the name of the vendor. Instead, they seek to verify whether the drug was stored at the correct temperature, handled according to protocol, or past its expiration date. They view these factors as critical to understanding why the procedure did not result in death.

The legal conflict arises from the events of September 30 at Riverbend Maximum Security Institution. On that date, Pike received two doses of pentobarbital during an execution that had been briefly stayed and then resumed after the United States Supreme Court reversed a lower court decision. Despite the two doses, Pike survived the injection.

Following the procedure, Pike was hospitalized and returned to prison on October 9. A Davidson County chancellor had previously issued an order requiring the state to preserve all physical evidence from the failed execution. That order currently permits the defense team to examine the materials, a right the state now seeks to restrict.

Pike remains in custody at Riverbend Maximum Security Institution. She is currently confined to the prison infirmary. In a separate request, she has asked to return to her previous housing arrangements that were in place before the September 30 procedure.

The Davidson County chancellor will review Skrmetti’s motion. The judge must decide whether to grant the request to revise the evidence order or to deny it, thereby maintaining the current access terms for Pike’s legal team.