Christa Pike remains hospitalized and unconscious four days after a botched execution attempt, with armed guards and police working around the clock to secure the high-risk inmate at a public medical facility.
Pike, 50, has shown little sign of improvement since the failed procedure last Wednesday, according to her legal team. She remains completely dependent on a ventilator, and doctors are working to eliminate the substantial quantity of the barbiturate pentobarbital from her body.
Armed guard patrol outside hospital room
The hallway leading to Pike's hospital room is under armed guard patrol, and the Tennessee Department of Correction treats her hospital room as a temporary extension of her maximum-security cell because she remains a death row inmate under state custody.
The state does not publicly disclose the specific name of her medical facility to prevent security breaches and public disruptions.
Legal team issues health update
Assistant Federal Defender Stephen Ferrell, representing Pike, told CNN's State of the Union that he has been given "no indication she's regained consciousness following the execution attempt."
Pike's legal team gave an update on Sunday, saying her outlook remains "potentially unclear for several additional days."
Botched execution details
Prison guards administered two separate doses of the lethal injection substance on Wednesday evening, but the pentobarbital failed to prove fatal as it did not enter her bloodstream properly. Her legal representatives reported that her arms sustained burns and blistering from the harsh chemicals.
During the execution attempt, Pike had six different needles in her arm at one point.
Medical decisions and privacy
A person close to Pike has been given the right to make her medical decisions, but that identity has not been made public. Her lawyers said they will not disclose the identity of the person overseeing her healthcare decisions for safety reasons.
A representative from her legal team issued a statement early Sunday, saying, "We appreciate all respect for Christa's rightful privacy."
Pike was 18 when she and her boyfriend tortured and murdered classmate Colleen Slemmer in a fit of jealousy in 1995. She was among the youngest females ever sentenced to death row and would have become the first woman to be executed in Tennessee in more than 200 years.
