Judge orders that Christa Pike execution evidence be preserved

The Davidson County Chancery Court in Nashville ordered Tennessee prison officials to preserve all evidence in connection with last week's botched lethal injection of Christa Pike, including log books, medical waste and all messages sent or received by officials associated with the execution attempt.

"Anything in the actual room needs to be preserved and maintained," Judge I'Ashea Myles said.

The judge also granted a request from Pike's attorneys for "liberal access" to their client, ordering that prison officials will have two hours to respond to requests from lawyers for in-person visits with Pike.

Speaking outside the courtroom, Luke P. Ihnen, an assistant federal defender in Knoxville, told reporters that this was "just a first step of many to preserve and enforce Christa's constitutional rights after this unprecedented botched execution."