Tennessee warns executions could grind to a halt if Christa Pike's lawyers see a single drug label: court docs

Tennessee officials are urging a judge to keep their lethal injection drug supplier secret, warning in court documents that executions could come to a halt if the vendor is exposed to retaliation after Christa Pike's botched execution.Pike had been set for execution on Sept.30 after the Supreme Court vacated a last-minute stay.

She was convicted of the murder of 19-year-old classmate Colleen Slemmer in Knoxville and received a death sentence.She stood to become the first woman put to death in Tennessee in more than two centuries, yet she survived after two administered doses of the lethal injection drug pentobarbital did not result in her death.In a motion filed in the Davidson County Chancery Court on Friday, a Tennessee Department of Correction employee said that providers of the chemical used in the execution attempt have grown skittish.In the filing, the employee described being responsible for procuring the state's pentobarbital execution drug.TENNESSEE DEATH ROW INMATE SURVIVES 2 LETHAL INJECTION DOSES IN FAILED EXECUTION ATTEMPTChrista Gail Pike was scheduled to be executed on Sept.

30, 2026.(Tennessee Department of Correction via AP)"Suppliers have stated that they are concerned about threats, harassment, and boycotts because of their lawful decision to supply state correctional departments with drugs used to carry out lawful executions," the employee wrote.State officials filed the motion in response to an Oct.

10 order from Chancellor I'Ashea Myles requiring them to preserve all physical evidence tied to the botched execution, including needles, drug vials and any "residual pentobarbital."911 OPERATORS QUESTIONED WHETHER CHRISTA PIKE FAILED EXECUTION CALL WAS PRANK, AUDIO REVEALSREAD THE COURT FILING HERE:Warning that a label on one of those items could expose Tennessee's pentobarbital supplier, the unnamed state employee said the vendor has "made it clear" it will cut ties with the state if identified.CLICK HERE FOR MORE FROM THE FOX TRUE CRIME HUBChri...