Tennessee officials have opposed Christa Pike’s request to be moved from solitary confinement to a low-security prison unit, arguing that her history and security classification make the transfer unsuitable.
The state’s position was set out in federal court documents responding to an emergency motion filed by Pike’s legal team on 30 October. Her lawyers are seeking an environment where she can be housed alongside other inmates and regain opportunities to socialise with other women.
State attorneys said Pike “thinks she knows better than her treating providers and officials about how to treat her medical needs while keeping her safe and secure”. They also cited her previous disciplinary record, saying: “She once tried to murder another inmate and was disciplined for an escape attempt. She therefore cannot pick and choose any housing assignment.”
The officials argued that a maximum-security prisoner could not be allowed to move freely around the proposed unit, which they likened to “a nursing home”.
Pike’s lawyers have said she continues to suffer from serious burns, nerve damage and painful wounds following her failed execution. They claim her privileges to mix with and spend time around other female inmates were withdrawn afterwards.
Pike, who was convicted of killing Colleen Slemmer in 1995, survived a pair of lethal injections in Tennessee on 30 September. She reportedly complained of pain in her arm before losing consciousness and later waking in intensive care several days afterwards.
