Christa Pike, the Tennessee death row inmate who survived a failed lethal injection, has asked a federal court to prevent prison officials from moving her back to a former housing unit, arguing that the transfer could put her life at risk.
Pike, 50, is recovering from the execution attempt while held in solitary confinement in the infirmary at the Debra K. Johnson Rehabilitation Center in Nashville.
In an emergency filing, Pike said her serious physical weakness would leave her unable to defend herself if she were returned to the unit, the New York Post reported.
An execution gurney is pictured beside a Tennessee Department of Correction booking photo of death row inmate Christa Pike, who is seeking to block a return to her former housing unit. (Greg Smith/Corbis/Corbis via Getty Images; Tennessee Department of Correction via AP)
“This pod houses inmates with significant histories of assaults and disciplinary problems,” the motion says. “In my two years living in this pod … I witnessed multiple assaults by close custody inmates against other inmates and guards, multiple individuals undergoing acute psychological breakdowns, and significant danger.”
Pike also described the difficulty she would face if confronted by another prisoner.
“In my current physical condition, I could not defend myself or get away if another inmate attacked me,” she wrote. “I am afraid that I will be seriously hurt if I am moved to that pod while I am this weak.”
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Christa Gail Pike appears remotely from the Debra K. Johnson Rehabilitation Center during a hearing in Knox County Criminal Court in Knoxville, Tennessee, on Aug. 11, 2026. (USA Today Network via Reuters Connect)
The filing also warns that the move would expose Pike to a “high risk of infection and further injury” because of allegedly unsanitary conditions. It says she would have to clean and use a reportedly “roach-infested shower” without assistance while still recovering, according to the Post.
Pike was sentenced to death for the 1995 killing of 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer, who was participating in the same Job Corps training program in Knoxville. In 2001, Pike was also convicted of attempting to murder another inmate.
Pike was set to become the first woman executed in Tennessee in more than 200 years. She survived, however, after two doses of the execution drug pentobarbital failed to kill her during the Sept. 30 attempt.
After the failed execution, Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee temporarily suspended all executions while the state investigates what happened.
News Outlet has contacted the Tennessee Department of Correction for comment.
