Tennessee opposes testing of pentobarbital after failed attempt to execute Christa Pike

Tennessee authorities are opposing a request by Christa Pike’s lawyers to examine the pentobarbital used in the failed attempt to execute her.

Pike, 50, survived two doses of the drug in September. Her defense team says the drug did not enter her bloodstream properly but pooled in her arms, causing severe burns and blisters on her skin.

After the incident, Judge I’Ashea L. Myles ordered evidence related to the procedure to be preserved as part of a lawsuit filed by Pike’s lawyers. In a motion filed Friday, Tennessee authorities asked the court to remove the part of the order allowing the defense to inspect, sample and analyze the remaining pentobarbital.

The state argues in court documents that examining the drug could reveal the identity of the company that supplied it, information protected by secrecy laws. Tennessee law prohibits disclosure of the identities of people or entities involved in obtaining lethal drugs and organizing executions.

An unnamed Tennessee Department of Correction employee told the court that the lawyers could identify the supplier if allowed to examine the remaining drug vials or their labels. According to the employee, the pentobarbital vials prepared for the execution are the most likely place to find traces of the drug used during the attempt.

The employee also said the current supplier fears it could be identified even if information on the labels is partially obscured. The employee said another supplier stopped communicating with the department in 2024 after its identity became public. Authorities warn that losing the current supplier could create serious difficulties for the state in obtaining drugs for executions.

In the court filing, Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti asked that Pike’s lawyers and experts not be allowed to see or touch the remaining pentobarbital vials or obtain information from them in any way.

Christa Pike’s defense team insists it is not trying to identify the company that supplies the state with the lethal drug. Lawyer Luke Ihnen said examining the pentobarbital’s labeling and storage conditions is essential to determine whether there were problems with its preparation, transport or administration, and whether the drug had expired.

Ihnen stressed that it is still unclear exactly what happened that night and that the information could help explain what went wrong.

Tennessee Department of Correction spokesperson Dorinda Carter declined to comment, citing the ongoing litigation.

The case has reopened debate in the United States over how lethal-injection executions are carried out and the lack of transparency surrounding the drugs used and the companies that supply them.