Christa Pike Asks Court Not to Send Her Back to Former Prison Block After Failed Execution

Christa Pike, the death row inmate who survived a botched lethal injection attempt, has filed an emergency federal court motion to stop prison officials from transferring her back to her former housing block, claiming her life is in danger.

Pike, 50, is currently in solitary confinement in the infirmary at the Debra K. Johnson Rehabilitation Center in Nashville as she recovers from the execution attempt. In her court filing, Pike argued that her severe physical weakness leaves her vulnerable and unable to protect herself if returned to her previous unit, the New York Post reported.

The motion states that the pod houses inmates with significant histories of assaults and disciplinary problems. Pike wrote that in her two years living in the pod she witnessed multiple assaults by close custody inmates of other inmates and guards, multiple individuals undergoing acute psychological breakdowns, and significant danger.

Pike emphasized her inability to handle potential threats. "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."

The motion further states that returning to her prior housing unit poses a high risk of infection and further injury due to unsanitary conditions, specifically noting that she would be forced to clean and use an alleged roach-infested shower on her own while still recovering, according to the Post.

Pike was sentenced to death for the 1995 murder of 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer, a fellow participant in a Job Corps training program in Knoxville. In 2001, she received an additional conviction for the attempted murder of another inmate.

Poised to become the first woman executed in Tennessee in more than two centuries, Pike survived after two doses of the lethal injection drug pentobarbital failed to kill her during the September 30 execution attempt.

Following the failed procedure, Tennessee Governor Bill Lee issued a temporary halt on all executions pending an investigation. According to a leading scholar on capital punishment in the United States, if surviving the attempted lethal injections left Pike mentally impaired, she could be spared from the death penalty; the scholar also breaks down some other possibilities.

Fox News Digital has reached out to the Tennessee Department of Correction.