Anesthesiologist who advised Christa Pike’s defense speaks out against lethal injection
Anesthesiologist Dr. Joel Zivot joins Bill Hemmer to discuss the legal fallout after a judge ordered Tennessee officials to preserve evidence from the botched execution of Christa Pike. Zivot, who advised Pike’s attorneys, explains the complications surrounding the lethal injection drugs used in the state’s attempt. Pike remains on death row following the failed execution attempt.
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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.
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Christa 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.”
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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.
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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)
Losing that supplier could bring executions in Tennessee to a halt, the employee wrote, adding that finding a replacement would be unlikely.
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“If counsel or experts for Plaintiffs [Pike] are allowed to view the labels on any vials of pentobarbital or handle the vials, TDOC would likely lose access to pentobarbital and thus be unable to carry out executions using it,” the employee said. “And in my experience, if that were to happen, it is unlikely Tennessee would be in a position to find another supplier willing to provide pentobarbital for carrying out executions.”
Myles hasn’t made a decision on the matter.
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Convicted killer Christa Gail Pike listens to proceedings on April 2008 in Knox County Criminal Court in a bid for a new trial in the 1995 killing of fellow Job Corps student Colleen Slemmer. (USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect)
The motion follows a separate request made in late October, asking a federal court to stop prison officials from placing her back into her housing block, stating her life is in danger.
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Christa Gail Pike is seen during her trial for the murder of Colleen A. Slemmer March 18, 1996, in Knox County Criminal Court. (USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect)
“This pod houses inmates with significant histories of assaults and disciplinary problems,” the 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.”
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The Tennessee Department of Correction declined to comment.
Fox News Digital’s Michael Ruiz and Louis Casiano contributed to this report.