Ferrell and his colleagues – who highlighted ahead of the attempted execution that Pike had a condition that would make the injection method difficult – oppose any new attempt by state prison authorities to follow the same approach.
They are also calling on the state governor, Bill Lee, to downgrade Pike’s punishment to the lesser sentence of life in prison without parole.
Meanwhile, Tennessee’s proponents of capital punishment have suggested that a different method be used. Senator Marsha Blackburn, the Republican candidate for state governor in next month’s election, said: “Bring back the electric chair.”
Asked during a court hearing on Wednesday whether the state intended to reschedule Pike’s execution, the state’s attorney general said he did not know.
For now, Tennessee Governor Bill Lee has ordered a pause on all executions in the state for the rest of the year, and has said he wants answers about what went wrong. The state’s prisons chief is resigning after the failed execution.
Wednesday’s court hearing related to the preservation of evidence following the first attempt.
The judge, I’Ashea Myles, ordered that “anything that was in the actual room needs to be preserved and maintained,” including IV lines and syringes, as well as waste, like packaging, inserts, and labels.
The judge also demanded documentation on Pike’s psychological condition prior to, during and after the 30 September execution attempt.
She advised the state to take “special care” not to misplace or accidentally delete any information that may be pertinent to the case.