Christa Pike, the Tennessee death row inmate who survived two doses of pentobarbital last week, is now awake, conscious, and talking, according to her lawyers. She remains in intensive care with severe injuries, including horrific burns and blistering on her arms.
Survival after two doses of pentobarbital
Pike was injected with two doses of pentobarbital last Wednesday, a drug widely used in the US for executions. When the second dose did not end her life, and she was heard snoring, she was rushed to hospital.
“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. Her prognosis remains unclear but, at a minimum, we expect a long recovery,” attorneys for Pike said in a statement.
Medical experts weigh in on recovery
Dr. Joel Zivot, a professor of anaesthesiology 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 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.
“She’s still in the ICU,” he said. “She has recovered to a certain degree that she’s able to be off a ventilator and able to speak, but in no way would I announce her free of further serious risk. There’s still a lot of bad things that can happen here, even when everyone is doing their job well.”
Legal proceedings and next steps
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 Sept. 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 Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee to commute Pike’s sentence to life in prison without the possibility of parole. “Christa is a survivor and will take recovery one day at a time,” her attorneys said. A spokeswoman for the Tennessee Department of Correction said she could provide no information other than that Pike remained hospitalised Tuesday.
Pike was sentenced to death for the 1995 murder and torture of classmate Colleen Slemmer with her then-boyfriend, Tadaryl Shipp.
