Christa Pike case sparks last-minute plea as Jamaal Howard faces execution – latest

Christa Pike case sparks last-minute plea as Jamaal Howard faces execution – latest Jamaal Howard, 46, is set to be put to death in Texas today in what would be the first execution in the US since Christa Pike survived two lethal injections in Tennessee last week The first execution in the US since the botched attempt to put Christa Pike to death last week is set to go ahead in Texas within hours. Lawyers for Jamaal Howard, 46, who fatally shot a convenience store clerk in 2000, had asked a judge to stay his execution by lethal injection, citing the Pike case. "There is a similar risk," Howard's attorneys wrote, "that Texas's execution drugs are likewise degraded, as they are far past the original beyond-use dates that the pharmacopeia allows for drugs of this kind." However, the request has now been denied. Pike's lawyers confirmed she was awake and speaking yesterday, and it was revealed today that a request from staff to release her from handcuffs in hospital had been denied. Pike's team also said any new attempt to execute her is "likely" to fail, citing a complaint filed in January detailing why Pike was likely to go through an ordeal if the lethal injection went ahead. At the press conference earlier, lawyers explained they were told she was "brain dead" on Monday and would have her life support turned off, before she woke up on Tuesday. Her first words after waking up were also revealed. Key Events Howard sentenced to death for killing of convenience shop worker Jamaal Howard was found guilty of capital murder in the 2000 killing of Vickie Swartout, 42, who was shot once in the chest during a robbery at a convenience shop. Evidence presented at the trial included the store’s surveillance video, which showed Howard shooting Ms Swartout. Howard, who was 20 at the time, took $114 and a carton of cigarettes from the store in the small, rural town of Silsbee, about 100 miles northeast of Houston, according to court records. Texas court refuses to halt Jamaal Howard execution with pentobarbital A Texas court has refused to halt the execution of a man who fatally shot a convenience store clerk after his attorneys cited the failed lethal injection of Christa Pike in Tennessee. The execution in the Huntsville Unit, in Texas, is set to take place in less than two hours would be the first in the US since Pike survived her execution last week. Because the same drug used in Pike’s attempted execution — pentobarbital — would be used in Texas for 46-year-old Jamaal Howard, his lawyers argued to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals the drug poses the same risks. His lawyers also raised concerns over the quality of the state’s execution drugs. The court denied the stay request without elaboration. How Pike may have survived two doses of lethal drugs Christa Pike regaining consciousness and speaking a week after receiving two doses of execution drugs in Tennessee has astonished even medical professionals. Lawyers for Pike, 50, called her recovery “medically unprecedented” after she was placed on a ventilator following the bungled September 30 attempt to make her the first woman put to death in Tennessee in 200 years. A judge was told at a hearing today that Pike was “speaking limitedly” and a long recovery is expected. Pike is the only person to survive after receiving lethal injection drugs during an execution, according to the Death Penalty Information Centre. Many details of the execution process remain secretive, and Tennessee officials say they are investigating what went wrong. Medical experts raised a few possibilities that could explain how Pike was able to survive the injections, including the potential drug quality and the placement of IV lines. Tennessee’s executioners had difficulties earlier this year with IV lines for another execution, leading to it being called off. Man set to be executed in hours - as lawyers cite Christa Pike case Lawyers for a Texas man who killed a convenience store clerk are asking a judge to stay his execution by lethal injection set for midnight UK time - citing the failed execution of Christa Pike. The same drug used in her attempted execution - pentobarbital - would be used for Jamaal Howard, and his lawyers argue the drug poses the same risks to him. They believe the supply has become degraded. This would be the first execution since the botched attempt on Pike. Pike's lawyers alleged her execution was marred by blown veins, as well as Tennessee’s deteriorated pentobarbital and a lack of emergency medical care. “There is a similar risk,” Howard’s lawyers wrote, “that Texas’s execution drugs are likewise degraded, as they are far past the original beyond-use dates that the pharmacopeia allows for drugs of this kind.” Texas has executed six people so far this year, with two more scheduled after Howard, which would be the 30th execution nationwide in 2026. Pike's hands 'look like blown up surgical gloves' Lawyer Randy Spivey said Christa Pike's hands "looked like if you were to blow up a surgical glove". He added: “The swelling was extraordinary, and that’s, that’s probably as far as I can go.” In the hearing, her lawyers had called for Pike's hands to be unshackled from her bed in a Nashville hospital. What we learnt from hearing over Pike's failed execution At a hearing in Nashville, Christa Pike’s lawyers asked the court to order the Tennessee Department of Correction to save evidence in the case and provide more information about what went wrong. A judge ordered the state to preserve “anything that was in the actual room.” “Part of the issue that we are facing is up until yesterday, our client was unconscious, unable to communicate with counsel, unable to communicate with medical providers, and without her consent”, Luke Ihnen, a federal public defender, told the court. Hence a new lawsuit could not be filed, he said. Her legal team said Pike’s prognosis remains unclear and, at a minimum, she faces a lengthy recovery. Her arms were burned and blistered after the attempted lethal injection and she remains handcuffed to the hospital bed. 'There are so many questions that need to be answered' One of Pike's lawyer said it was "unimaginable" that the state would try to execute her again. Randy Spivey told reporters: "There are so many questions that need to be answered, not by Christa but by the state of Tennessee - one of those questions has to be how much suffering is enough. "Christa has survived child sexual abuse, physical abuse, rapes and more than 20 years of solitary confinement and then September 30 happens. "We have to ask how much suffering is enough. We continue to ask Gov Lee to commute Christa's death sentence, after all we have seen and all that we do not know it is unimaginable that the state would try and execute her again." Botched execution was 'foreseeable and foreseen' Christa Pike's legal team said the botched execution was “foreseeable and foreseen” due to her medical condition. Randy Spivey said: “What happened to Christa is exactly what the state was warned would happen, and there are so many questions that need to be answered, not by Christa — but by the state of Tennessee." He added: "Christa was at peace. She helped the execution team find what they thought was venous access." 'She has not been able to swallow or eat' Christa Pike has not been able to swallow or eat since she has regained consciousness, her lawyer said. Mr Spivey said "on Tuesday Christa Pike woke up and began talking" and added "I don't have an explanation for what happened". He continued: "Christa has a long road to recovery. She has a blood clot in one of her arms, pneumonia, and has not able to swallow yet. "She has not eaten, she cannot move either of her arms, both of her arms are tremendously swollen. We don't know what if any function she will regain in her arms, but we do know that there is a long road ahead." Pike was 'set to have life support turned off' before waking up A second lawyer for Christa Pike, Randy Spivey, speaking outside the court house, said that it was her legal team's understanding she was "brain dead" on Monday - and that "life support" would be removed the next day. She woke up on Tuesday. He said that Pike was a "survivor". He added she had survived "child sexual abuse, rapes of multiple men, a suicide attempt when she was 12, and she survived a state's attempt to execute her". 'Don't simply take state's word over what happened' Outside the court house, her lawyer said the hearing was the "first step to preserve constitutional rights". He said it was a "botched execution" and that Pike's lawyers were looking to preserve evidence for "transparency". He urged people "not to simply take the state's word over what happened", and said the state's case was "shrouded in secrecy" - claiming it was trying to "obscure what happened". 'Court will reserve ruling on whether Pike has access to tablet' The judge says that she will reserve a judgement on whether Christa Pike can have access to a tablet while she is in hospital. Pike used the tablet to communicate with her friends and family while in jail, with the messages monitored by the Tennessee Department of Correction. State lawyer John Ayers said he did not know the circumstances of how she would use the tablet and that there are “a number of security considerations that have to be taken into account.” Based on his reply, the judge said she wanted more "information" before she made a decision. 'Any recording of the execution will need to be preserved' The judge also stated in her ruling: "Anything in regard to the actual drug that was used needs to be maintained and preserved, as well as any supplies that may have come from any manufacturer, administering those products. "All photographs, video recording, audio recordings, any surveillance footage of the execution, will need to be maintained." Pike's medical documents in the state's possession also need to be preserved. Judge grants motion to preserve evidence in Pike's botched execution Judge I’Ashea Myles says the case "is unique to say the least" and that the outcome of the attempted excution "could not have been anticipated". "In light of the evolving situation the court will pen and grant its own order, granting the motion preserving relevant evidence," she said. "As a primary matter we want all drugs surrendered, IV lines, tubing, which are within the state's possession: needles cathers, medical supplies, restraints, gurneys. Anything that was in the actual room needs to be preserved." State has listed evidence collected from execution chamber A list has been made by the state, of evidence that was taken from the execution chamber and logged in a preservation room. These include log books, observation logs, medical waste and products, and electrocardiogram readouts The state lawyer noted “there may be some equipment that the plaintiffs are seeking in this motion that may not be in TDOC’s possession.” He noted “portions of those IV lines that could have been still attached to Ms Pike when she was transported to the hospital.” Pike lawyers 'frustrated over evidence secreted away' by state Christa Pike's lawyer says their team are "frustrated", claiming that "the information (belonging to the state) has been repeatedly and deliberately secreted away". Luke Ihnen added: "We don't know what they have because they won't tell us." One request is for the "inspection of any residue of the chemicals" involved in the execution, and access to speak with Pike. Ihnen says members of her legal team had to wait two and a half hours to speak with their client. Preservation order needed in case of 'future execution', says Pike lawyer Christa Pike's lawyer Luke Ihnen says the preservation of evidence is necesssary in case the state intends to try and execute her again. He pointed to the state's claim that there was no “imminent execution,” but argued there has been no commitment beyond that. “’Imminent’ does not preclude future execution,” Ihnen said. “The state has made no promises that Ms. Pike will not be subject to a future execution, and the evidence that we are seeking to preserve now is relevant for any future challenge that she makes.” Fresh attempt to execute Pike 'likely' to fail, says lawyer A new attempt to execute Christa Pike is also "likely" to fail, says her lawyer. "The state has made no promises that Ms Pike will not be subject to a future execution," he said. "And the evidence that we are seeking to preserve now is relevant for any future challenge that she makes. Because, as we pled in January, the same thing is likely to happen." Lethal drug can 'cause extreme pain upon injection', says Pike lawyer Christa Pike's lawyer Luke Ihnen said how the lethal injection drug can "cause extreme pain upon injection". He told the hearing how she had a "history of difficulty with blood draws and needle insertion". And he said that as her "veins are so difficult to access", it was likely that those "physical characteristics would interfere with the proper delivery of the poison". State lawyer 'not in position' to say if Pike will be rescheduled for execution Will Ayers, a lawyer for the state, says he is "not in the position" to say if Christa Pike will be rescheduled for execution. "I can’t answer that question I’m not in the position to," he told the judge. "That is within the purview of the Tennessee supreme court." Hospital staff 'denied request to remove Pike's shackles' Christa Pike is currently handcuffed to a bed at a hospital in Nashville and her lawyer said that medical staff had sought to have them removed. "As has been reported Ms Pike is shackled to the bed, based on our understanding medical staff have asked for the shackles to be removed and have been denied that request," he told the hearing. Pike's lawyer argues preservation order over evidence is necessary Pike's lawyer Luke Ihnen is outlining the argument to preserve evidence in the emergency motion. He repeats the state's claim that "they have a duty to preserve discoverable evidence and argue that the preservation order is therefore unnecessary". And he tells Judge I’Ashea Myles: "We have not asked the state to turnover any evidence, we've not had any discussion about relevance, we are asking the state to preserve anything it has relating to Ms Pike's botched execution." 'We are asking the state to preserve evidence of Ms Pike's botched execution' Luke Ihnen, one of Christa Pike’s lawyers, told the hearing: "We are asking the state to preserve evidence of Ms Pike's botched execution that is the limited issue before the court." Lawyer confirms in court that Pike is speaking 'limitedly' In the legal argument, Luke Ihnen said that "part of the issue we are facing is up until yesterday our client was unconscious". But he said that she is now "speaking limitedly". He stated: "She was unable to communicate with counsel, she was unable to communicate with her medical providers. She regained consciousness yesterday and is speaking limitedly." Hearing has started in Nashville The hearing has now started in Nashville where a discussion is currently taking place over jurisdiction. Luke Ihnen, one of Christa Pike’s lawyers, is speaking at the Chancery Court where a decision will be made on whether the hearing can take place there. Pike’s lawyers are seeking a court order to require the prison system to preserve information from the attempted execution including drug lot numbers, needles, execution logs and other information. What went wrong in botched Pike execution? Christa Pike survived after receiving two lethal doses of the drug pentobarbital. Medical and lethal injection experts have focused on the possibility that a problem with the IV line caused the drug to pool in her tissue rather than entering her bloodstream. Pike’s lawyers wrote in their court filing that “apparently at no point did any member of the execution team realise that the IV lines were not correctly placed or that the veins had blown.” Republican Gov Bill Lee called what happened “deeply disturbing” and ordered a “comprehensive, third-party review to determine exactly what occurred.” The governor postponed the state’s only other execution scheduled for this year. Hearing over Pike's botched execution set to start shortly Christa Pike’s lawyers are seeking a court order to require the prison system to preserve information from the attempted execution including drug lot numbers, needles, execution logs and other information. The status hearing is expected to start at 5pm UK time in Nashville. Lawyers with the Tennessee attorney general’s office wrote in a Tuesday court filing that the court order is unnecessary because the prison system is “obliged to maintain this evidence in other cases and must assure it is preserved”. They said state officials have taken “the necessary steps to obtain medical care for Pike and ascertain what occurred.” Pike was due to be first woman executed in Tennessee in 200 years Christa Pike was 18 when she killed a classmate in a jealous rage and became one of the youngest women to be sent to death row. Now 50, she would have been the first woman executed in Tennessee in 200 years. Pike and her boyfriend were convicted in the 1995 killing of 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer, their classmate at Knoxville Job Corps. Prosecutors said Pike feared Slemmer was a romantic rival and lured her to a secluded area where she and her boyfriend tortured and killed her. The case got widespread attention because of the brutality of the killing, the ages of the people involved and because a satanic symbol was carved into the victim’s body. Pike 'recovery is medically unprecedented' Christa Pike's lawyers say that it is "medically unprecedented" for her to be alive and conscious after receiving two doses of a lethal drug. They said in a statement: "Against all odds, Christa Pike is conscious, speaking, and continues to receive critical medical care. "Despite the severe damage she endured to her arms, she is still handcuffed and shackled to the bed. Her recovery is medically unprecedented. Her prognosis remains unclear but, at a minimum, we expect a long recovery." Christa Pike ‘has no memory’ of botched execution and ‘thought it was September’ Pike appears to have no memory of being given the lethal injections after regaining consciousness in hospital. The 50-year-old remains critically ill in hospital in the Nashville area following the failed execution and is able to speak in a "basic way". But she had no recollection of the execution attempt. Dr Joel Zivot, the anaesthesiologist advising her team, told the BBC: "She has some memories of being in the hospital but no memory, I believe, of the execution attempt." The doctor added that Pike could recall her name in her first words after waking up, but believed it was still September.