Christa Pike's lawyers warned she may have 'blood cancer' months before botched execution
Lawyers for death row inmate Christa Pike’s lawyers warned officials that she may have a rare form of blood cancer months before her botched execution.
The 50-year-old was scheduled to be executed via lethal injection in Tennessee on 30 September but survived two doses of pentobarbital and was rushed into hospital in a critical condition.
Pike, who spent three decades on death row for the killing of Colleen Slemmer, has since been released from hospital but says the botched execution has left her in constant pain.
Legal documents obtained by PEOPLE show that Pike’s lawyer warned back in January that any attempt to execute her by lethal injection would ‘very likely to result in unnecessary and superadded pain and suffering, terror, and disgrace’.
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The documents, which were submitted almost nine months before her botched execution attempt, also claimed that Pike may have been suffering from myeloproliferative disorder - a rare form of cancer that affects blood cell production.
It’s unclear if Pike has a confirmed diagnosis or when the condition first developed.
However, the filing claimed Pike’s ‘platelet count is significantly elevated, likely due to a rare form of blood cancer called myeloproliferative disorder’.
The convicted killer’s legal team went on to argue that the condition could increase her risk of developing a pulmonary edema, where fluid builds up in the lungs, causing potential breathing problems.
“A pulmonary edema is not simply painful or uncomfortable; it can create a sense of suffocating or drowning that has been likened by experts to the sensation intentionally induced by the practice of waterboarding—an unambiguous form of outright torture,” the filing read.
The same complaint also claimed that Pike had a ‘history of difficult blood draws’.
Following the botched execution attempt, Pike spent 10 days in hospital, before she was discharged to the Debra K. Johnson Rehabilitation Center where she remains in solitary confinement.
Pike breaks silence after botched execution
Last week, Pike spoke out about the botched execution attempt for the first time, saying she is in constant pain and struggling to speak.
"There hasn't been a moment since that night when I haven't been in pain. My body hurts. My arms hurt. My hands hurt. My throat hurts. I still struggle to speak. And the pain isn't just physical. There is pain in my mind and in my soul," she said.
"I had not contemplated life beyond that night, and I'm deeply hurt by the incompetence that has put so many people in this terrible position. I continue to think about my victim's family and the terrible pain and loss they have endured."
It is not currently known whether or not Pike will face an execution again at a later date, as Tennessee has paused all executions while an internal review is carried out.
Tennessee governor Bill Lee has suggested the state would try to carry out Pike's death sentence again, telling reporters: "She is still incarcerated under the laws of the state of Tennessee and I suspect her sentence will be the same as it was before, unless determined otherwise by the courts."
Claire Reid
