Christa Pike's lawyer says she has remained unconscious on a ventilator in the four days since a failed execution in the US state of Tennessee. Stephen Ferrell says Pike's prognosis might not be known for a number of days.
Little information released since execution attempt
Officials have released little information about Pike's condition since Wednesday's execution attempt. She has remained in hospital ever since as doctors attempt to get the dose of lethal injection out of her system.
When asked if Pike had regained consciousness, Ferrell, an Assistant Federal Defender, told CNN: "No that I am aware of."
Background of the case
Pike, 50, became one of the youngest women to be sent to death row in 1995 when she killed and tortured her classmate, Colleen Slemmer, with her then boyfriend. Pike was just 18 years old at the time.
On Wednesday evening she was given two doses of the lethal injection drug. The pentobarbital didn't kill her, with her arms becoming burned and blistered instead, the Associated Press reports.
Legal and medical details
Ferrell says Pike gave some of her medical power of attorney to another individual who is protecting her privacy. He said: "I'm not sure what all they may have told that person."
The lawyer did not identify the person acting on Pike's behalf. However he went on to say that her prognosis may not be known for "several more days".
He continued: "We don't know right now, and we may never know what sort of torture she endured during that process, where her consciousness was, what physical pain there was — what mental torture she went through."
Execution process and aftermath
Pike's execution had been delayed on Wednesday while the United States Supreme Court analysed a federal appeals court ruling that halted the injection so judges could review whether the jury in her trial should have considered abuse she suffered as a youngster. It prompted her attorney to ask the courts to preserve written records and communications from the execution.
Like many states, Tennessee keeps details of executions secret. This includes the people involved in an execution, the details of the drugs and any tests done on their quality.
However the state has seen two botched executions. In May the state had to stop the execution of Tony Carruthers after staff placed one IV in his right arm but could not get a secondary line.
The issue has led to Frank Strada, the Commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Correction, to announce his resignation. Gov. Bill Lee has meanwhile announced an investigation into the state's executions.
Should Pike recover, her lawyers have asked officials to hand her a life sentence. She did not deny killing 19-year-old Coleen while the pair were classmates at Knoxville Job Corps.
Prosecutors at the time said Pike feared the pair were romantic rivals. It led to Pike and her boyfriend luring Coleen into a secluded area before she was slashed with a box cutter and beaten with a chunk of asphalt.
The teenager's body was discovered with a satanic symbol carved into it. The case drew widespread attention in the 1990s due to the brutality and the young ages of those involved.
