Christa Pike Is Speaking, Conscious After Failed Execution Attempt, Lawyers Say

Christa Pike, a Tennessee prisoner on charges of murder, survived the state’s attempt to execute her. Her attorneys said on Tuesday that she is awake and speaking while she is receiving treatment at a hospital.

Pike, 50, remains in the hospital and is receiving critical medical care after surviving two lethal injections on September 30 in Tennessee. In a Tuesday statement, her lawyers said she was "handcuffed and shackled to the bed".

Pike had been sentenced to death over the 1995 killing of Colleen Slemmer with her then-boyfriend. Slemmer was one of their classmates at Knoxville Job Corps. After the execution attempt, she was moved to the hospital and stayed unconscious for several days while staff cleared the injected chemical from her body.

According to AP, her attorneys said, “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,” in a statement.

Her attorneys added that they are grateful for the first responders and the medical team at the hospital “who treated Christa like a human and have provided exceptional care to her.”

“She is the only person known to have survived a complete execution attempt in the US. Christa is a survivor and will take recovery one day at a time. We continue to ask the Governor of Tennessee to commute Christa Pike’s sentence to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole,” Pike’s attorneys added.

Pike’s failed execution has sparked debate about the use of the death penalty in the United States. Pike is thought to be the first person in the country to have survived such an injection, according to Al Jazeera.

Meanwhile, the official in charge of the prison system in the US state of Tennessee resigned just days after the failed execution of Christa Pike.

Pike’s defence lawyers cited her mental health problems as they sought to reduce her sentence. The Slemmer family backed capital punishment, citing the brutality of the killing of the 19-year-old.