Tennessee death row inmate Christa Pike is reportedly conscious and able to speak six days after surviving a failed lethal injection, as she continues to receive critical medical treatment in hospital.
Pike’s lawyers disclosed the development in a statement on Tuesday, saying she survived two doses of pentobarbital during the botched execution and remains under medical care.
“Against all odds, Christa Pike is conscious, speaking, and continues to receive critical medical care,” her attorneys said.
They added that despite the serious injuries to her arms, Pike remains handcuffed and shackled to her hospital bed.
“Her recovery is medically unprecedented. Her prognosis remains unclear but, at a minimum, we expect a long recovery,” the lawyers said.
Pike was sentenced to death for the 1995 murder of 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer. Her execution had been scheduled for October 1, making her the first woman to be executed in Tennessee in about 200 years.
However, the execution was not completed after officials reportedly spent about an hour attempting to establish intravenous access to administer the lethal drugs.
According to Pike’s attorney, Randy Spivey, execution officials used at least seven needles while attempting to find a suitable vein.
Spivey said Pike cooperated throughout the process and even pointed out areas where officials could attempt to place the IV lines.
Her legal team had previously warned Tennessee authorities that Pike had a history of difficulty with vein access.
The lawyers believe the problems with establishing the IV may have resulted in the pentobarbital being delivered into surrounding tissue rather than directly into her bloodstream.
Following the failed execution, Pike was unconscious and placed on a ventilator before being transferred to hospital for emergency treatment.
The unusual circumstances were also witnessed by a media representative who has covered several executions in Tennessee.
WPLN reporter Catherine Sweeney described the attempt as unlike other executions she had observed.
“None of it was normal. I covered all the executions last year, and most of the ones this year. We haven’t seen anything like it. It went really poorly,” Sweeney said.
The Tennessee Department of Correction has maintained that the execution was carried out according to the state’s approved lethal injection procedure, which permits a second injection if an inmate remains alive following the first.
Following the incident, Tennessee Governor Bill Lee suspended the state’s next scheduled execution and ordered an independent investigation into what happened.
The Department of Correction’s Commissioner, Frank Strada, also announced his resignation, saying the decision was “in the best interest of Tennesseans” while the review of the failed execution continues.
The investigation is being led by former US Attorney Ed Stanton, who previously examined a 2022 execution and concluded that Tennessee had failed to follow its own lethal injection procedures.
Meanwhile, Pike’s lawyers are seeking a court order to preserve evidence connected to the execution attempt.
The requested evidence includes physical materials as well as written and electronic records that could help establish exactly what happened during the failed execution.
Her legal team is also asking Governor Lee to commute her death sentence to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.
As Pike remains in hospital, her lawyers say her recovery is expected to be lengthy, while questions surrounding the failed execution continue to be investigated.
Source: CNN.
