Christa Pike, a Tennessee death row inmate who survived a failed lethal injection, has asked a federal court to block prison officials from sending her back to her former housing unit, arguing that the move could put her life at risk.
Pike, 50, is recovering from the botched execution attempt while being held in solitary confinement in the infirmary at the Debra K. Johnson Rehabilitation Center in Nashville.
In an emergency court filing, Pike said her extreme physical weakness would leave her defenseless if she were returned to her previous unit, the New York Post reported.
An execution gurney is shown alongside a Tennessee Department of Correction booking photo of death row inmate Christa Pike, who has filed an emergency federal court motion to stop prison officials from transferring her back to her former housing block. (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,” Pike’s motion states. “In my two years living in this pod… I witnessed multiple assaults by close custody inmates of other inmates and guards, multiple individuals who were undergoing acute psychological breakdowns, and significant danger.”
Pike said she would be unable to respond to a threat in her current condition.
“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 Deborah K. Johnson Rehabilitation for her hearing in Knox County Criminal Court in Knoxville, Tenn., on Aug. 11, 2026. (USA Today Network via Reuters Connect)
The filing also warns that a return to the former housing unit would expose Pike to a “high risk of infection and further injury” because of allegedly unsanitary conditions. According to the Post, the motion says she would have to clean and use a reportedly “roach-infested shower” without assistance while she continues to recover.
Pike was sentenced to death for the 1995 killing of 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer, who was enrolled with her in a Job Corps training program in Knoxville. She was later convicted in 2001 of attempting to murder another inmate.
Pike was scheduled to become the first woman executed in Tennessee in more than 200 years. However, she survived the Sept. 30 execution attempt after two doses of the lethal injection drug pentobarbital failed to kill her.
After the execution failed, Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee temporarily halted all executions while the state conducts an investigation.
News Media has contacted the Tennessee Department of Correction for comment.