Christa Pike's lawyers have held their first press conference following the death row inmate's awakening this week, revealing several new details about her condition. Pike, 50, woke up in intensive care and was speaking on Monday, nearly a week after Tennessee officials tried to put her to death in a botched execution on September 30. She had been rushed for urgent treatment after executioners tried to deliver two doses of pentobarbital, a lethal injection drug, and woke up "handcuffed and shackled to the bed."
First Words and Steps
Speaking to the press outside the courthouse in Tennessee, Pike's lawyer Randy Spivey told reporters she asked two questions as soon as she woke up: "Where am I and who are you?" Mr. Spivey added that Pike was "angry and confused" and "very aware that the state tried to execute her." He added that she has since left her ICU bed and is walking around.
He said: "She is up and walking for the first time today, but just around the room, not very far. Mentally, it's kind of good and bad – good that she's fairly with it, but she's also somewhat foggy and she can forget her train of thought."
Smashes 'Brain Dead' Expectations
Pike wasn't killed during her execution, but it was thought after she was taken to the ICU that she could have been brain dead. Her attorneys said during Wednesday's press conference that it was believed she was brain dead on Monday, and there were plans to remove her from life support on Tuesday. They said, however, that it was "to the shock of everyone" that she woke up on Tuesday and began to speak.
Mr. Spivey said: "I do not have an explanation for what happened between Monday night and Tuesday morning, but what we do know is that Christa has a long road to recovery."
Horror Injuries Detailed
She has regained consciousness and is walking, but the botched execution left Christa Pike with extensive injuries, which her lawyers have detailed. They include a blood clot in one of her arms, Mr. Spivey said, adding that she has not been able to swallow since waking up.
He said: "She cannot move either of her arms. Both of her arms and hands are tremendously swollen, and we do not know what, if any, function she will regain in her arms. But we do know that there's a long road ahead."
'Foreseeable' Botched Execution
The lawyers went on to claim during their press conference that the botched execution of their client was "foreseeable." Mr. Spivey said it was "foreseeable and foreseen," and he claimed the state of Tennessee was warned ahead of time about what could transpire.
He explained: "What happened to Christa is exactly what the state was warned would happen, and there are so many questions that need to be answered, not by Christa — but by the state of Tennessee. One of those questions has to be, 'how much suffering is enough?'" Mr. Spivey said he and his colleagues had warned courts beforehand that Pike had vein issues that would make it especially difficult to carry out execution by lethal injection.
At Peace Before Execution
Mr. Spivey added that Pike was "at peace" in the moments before she was put to death, and "kind and polite" while officials attempted to kill her. He said she was left confused and distressed on the other side of the botched execution, and that the lawyers aren't yet sure what kind of toll she would suffer.
He said: "And then she woke up in a hospital surrounded by people she didn't know with a tube down her throat. We don't know the toll all of this will take, but Christa is a survivor, and we remain hopeful."
Now She's Angry
Pike was at peace before her "death," and, as such, has been left angry after waking up days after she was supposed to have left. Mr. Spivey told the press conference that he believed she has been left feeling "angry and confused," and is asking about people.
He said: "She has wanted to know what's happened, and she's asked about several people. I think she is angry and confused about everything right now."
Remains Shackled Despite Injuries
As officials debate what should be done with Pike, she remains shackled to her bed at the Tennessee hospital where she was taken after the execution. Her lawyers have said she is shackled both by her hands and feet, and they have requested that these be released, attorney Luke Ihnen told Judge l'Ashea Myles.
He said: "My understanding is one hand is shackled and her feet are shackled. Medical personnel have requested that her hand at least be unshackled, given the extensive damage done to her arms and hands." Pike has extensive injuries to her hands, which Mr. Spivey has described in vivid detail as looking like a blown "surgical glove."
He said: "Her hands looked like if you were to blow up a surgical glove. The swelling was extraordinary, and that's, that's probably as far as I can go."
