Christa Pike, the death-row killer who survived two lethal injections, could potentially face another execution attempt if a review finds problems with how the procedure was carried out. Pike, 50, is conscious and speaking in hospital after the failed attempt to execute her in Nashville, Tennessee, on September 30.
Recovery after 'brain dead' reports
Her recovery comes after her lawyers said they understood on Monday night that she was "brain dead" and that her life support would be switched off the following day. Pike regained consciousness on Tuesday and began talking.
Governor Bill Lee has ordered a third-party review into the failed execution, with an expert suggesting its findings could play a significant role in determining what happens next. Dr Paul A Lucas, an associate professor at East Carolina University, told ABC News: "If the investigation identifies problems with how the protocol was implemented the state may focus on correcting those procedures."
Uncertainty over new execution order
However, uncertainty remains over whether Tennessee could attempt to execute Pike again. A lawyer representing the state told a court on Wednesday that he was unable to say whether a new execution order could be issued, saying the matter was for the Tennessee Supreme Court.
Pike's lawyers appeared in court on Wednesday as part of an emergency effort to preserve evidence relating to the failed execution. Chancellor I'Ashea Myles granted their motion, ordering that evidence including drugs, syringes, tubing, medical documents, communications and recordings surrounding the execution should be preserved.
Lawyers cite 'unprecedented botched execution'
Pike's lawyer Luke Ihnen described the hearing as the "first step of many" to protect his client's constitutional rights following what he called an "unprecedented botched execution". He said: "Today's hearing was about transparency, about why Christa, the courts, the media, and the public should not simply take the state's word about what happened last Wednesday."
Pike was administered two doses of pentobarbital that would typically be lethal but survived, while witnesses reported hearing her snoring before she was taken to hospital. Medical and lethal injection experts have focused on the possibility that a problem with the IV line caused the drug to pool in Pike's tissue rather than enter her bloodstream. Her lawyers have claimed in court filings that the IV lines were incorrectly placed or that her veins had "blown".
Medical concerns and next steps
Her legal team has also alleged at least seven syringes were used during attempts to establish an IV line, with at least one being "bent in a 90-degree angle". Pike's lawyers had previously warned that her thrombocytosis, a blood condition, could make inserting a needle "more difficult". They said Pike cooperated with the execution team and tried to help officials establish intravenous access. During the attempt, however, she complained that her arm felt like it was "about to burst open".
Dr Lucas said he was "hesitant" to predict what the state would do next, adding "there are still too many unresolved questions, beginning with Ms Pike's medical condition and the findings of the independent review." "If officials followed the protocol as written and the execution nevertheless failed, that could raise more fundamental questions about the protocol itself," he added. "Either way, I would expect the circumstances surrounding Ms Pike's failed execution to receive significant scrutiny before Tennessee resumes executions."
Pike remains seriously ill. Her lawyer Randy Spivey said she has pneumonia and a blood clot in one arm and has not yet been able to swallow. He said: "She has not eaten, she cannot move either of her arms, both of her arms are tremendously swollen. We don't know what if any function she will regain in her arms, but we do know that there is a long road ahead." Dr Joel Zivot, an anaesthesiologist advising her legal team, said she initially had no recollection of the execution attempt and believed it was still September.
Her lawyers are continuing to urge Governor Bill Lee to commute her death sentence, with Mr Spivey saying it was "unimaginable" that the state would attempt to execute her again. Pike was sentenced to death following her conviction for the 1995 murder of 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer.
