Death row inmate Christa Pike is awake and speaking in hospital after surviving two doses of the lethal injection last week, her lawyers have confirmed. The 50-year-old Tennessee prisoner remains in the intensive care unit, where she is still handcuffed and shackled to her bed despite severe burns to her arms.
Surviving the attempted execution
Pike was left unconscious and on a ventilator after executioners administered two doses of pentobarbital last Wednesday in an attempt to carry out her death sentence for the 1995 beating and stabbing death of classmate Colleen Slemmer. Six days later, her attorneys issued an update on her condition.
In a statement, Pike's lawyers 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.”
Recovery and prognosis
Her attorneys said her prognosis remains unclear and that she faces a long recovery. They added: “Christa is a survivor and will take recovery one day at a time.” Dr. Joel Zivot, a professor of anesthesiology and surgery in Atlanta who consulted as an expert for Pike's legal team, said the development “bodes well for a good recovery.” However, he added 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.
Giving an update on her hospital ward, he said: “She's still in the ICU.” Pike's attorneys said 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.”
Court action and political response
Pike's attorneys are set to go to court Wednesday as they seek to learn more about what happened in the failed lethal injection. They are seeking 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.
Pike's attorneys said in their Tuesday statement that they continue to ask outgoing Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee to commute Pike's sentence to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Lee halted further executions following Pike's hospitalisation and ordered a “comprehensive, third-party review to determine exactly what occurred.” U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn, the state's Republican candidate to replace him, called on the state to explore other methods of execution to ensure it can continue carrying out capital punishment.
