A Tennessee death row inmate, Christa Pike, is conscious and speaking six days after surviving a botched execution, CNN reports.
Pike’s lawyers disclosed the development in a statement released on Tuesday, saying she remained in hospital receiving critical medical care after surviving two doses of pentobarbital during the failed lethal injection.
“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,” her attorneys said, according to CNN.
Pike was sentenced to death for the 1995 murder of 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer and was scheduled to become the first woman executed in Tennessee in 200 years.
Her execution on October 1 failed after executioners reportedly struggled for about an hour to establish intravenous access for the lethal drug.
According to Pike’s attorney, Randy Spivey, the execution team used at least seven needles while trying to find a suitable vein.
Spivey said Pike cooperated with the execution team and even indicated where they could try to insert the IV lines.
Her lawyers had previously warned Tennessee authorities about her history of difficulties with vein access.
They believe the IV problems caused the pentobarbital to flow into her body rather than directly into her bloodstream.
Pike was unconscious and placed on a ventilator after surviving the execution attempt before being taken to hospital for emergency treatment.
CNN reports that a media witness, WPLN reporter Catherine Sweeney, described the execution as highly unusual.
“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 said the execution followed the state’s approved lethal injection protocol, which allows a second injection if an inmate remains alive after the first.
Following the failed execution, Tennessee Governor Bill Lee halted the state’s next scheduled execution and ordered an independent review of the incident.
Meanwhile, Tennessee Department of Correction Commissioner Frank Strada announced his resignation, saying it was “in the best interest of Tennesseans” as the review of Pike’s failed execution gets underway.
The review is being led by former US Attorney Ed Stanton, who previously investigated a 2022 execution and found that Tennessee had failed to comply with its own lethal injection procedures.
Pike’s lawyers are also seeking a court order to preserve evidence from the execution attempt, including physical, written and electronic records.
They have called on Governor Lee to commute Pike’s death sentence to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.
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