Christa Pike, the Tennessee death row inmate who survived a botched lethal injection last week, is now awake and speaking, according to her legal team. The 50-year-old, who has spent three decades on death row for the 1995 murder of her classmate Colleen Slemmer, remains in intensive care after receiving two doses of the lethal injection.
Lawyers report 'medically unprecedented' recovery
In a statement released six days after the failed execution, Pike's 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." They described her arms as burned and blistered.
The legal team also expressed gratitude to the first responders and hospital medical staff "who treated Christa like a human and have provided exceptional care to her."
Prognosis uncertain but hopeful
Her attorneys stated that her prognosis remains uncertain and that she faces a lengthy recovery. They added: "Christa is a survivor and will take recovery one day at a time."
Dr Joel Zivot, a professor of anaesthesiology and surgery in Atlanta who served as an expert consultant for Pike's legal team, said the development "bodes well for a good recovery." However, he cautioned that it could be weeks or months before anyone knows exactly what her recovery might look like, and whether her competency could be restored to a level that might enable the state to try again to execute her. Providing an update on her hospital ward, he said: "She's still in the ICU."
Court hearing and call for commutation
Pike's solicitors are due in court Wednesday as they seek to learn more about what happened in the failed lethal injection. The legal team is pursuing a court order requiring the Tennessee Department of Correction to preserve evidence, including drug lot numbers, records and other information from the September 30 attempted execution. Chancery Court Judge I'Ashea Myles scheduled a Wednesday morning status conference in the case.
In a statement released on Tuesday, Pike's legal team reiterated their plea to outgoing Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee to commute Pike's sentence to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. Following Pike's hospitalisation, Gov. Lee put a stop to further executions and ordered a "comprehensive, third-party review to determine exactly what occurred."
