A week after Christa Pike survived Tennessee's execution attempt, her lawyers asked a Nashville court to preserve evidence as they prepare to block any second effort.
Two pentobarbital doses were injected after officials spent more than an hour trying at least seven needles for IV access; Pike was hospitalized, remained unconscious for days and has now returned to prison.
Her legal team is expected to argue a new execution would violate double-jeopardy and Eighth Amendment protections, while unresolved cognitive or psychological injuries could also affect whether she is competent to be executed.
Tennessee cannot proceed unless the attorney general asks the state supreme court to set a new date, and Gov. Bill Lee has already paused executions pending an independent review.
The case now puts pressure on Lee and his successor race: Democrat Jerri Green backs an execution moratorium, while Republican Marsha Blackburn has urged carrying out Pike's sentence, potentially by electric chair.