Pope Leo XIV has criticised capital punishment as an 'attack on human dignity' following the failed execution of Christa Pike in Tennessee. The comments come days after Pike, a 50-year-old convicted murderer, became the first US death row inmate ever to survive lethal injection when it was administered to her on September 30.
Pope's statement on the death penalty
The Head of the Catholic Church wrote on X: "The death penalty is inadmissible because it is an attack on the inviolability and dignity of the person."
He added: "The common good can be safeguarded and the requirements of justice can be met without recourse to capital punishment: effective systems of detention have been developed that protect citizens while at the same time do not completely deprive those who are guilty of the possibility of redemption."
Survival and recovery
Last month, Pike survived two administrations of pentobarbital during Tennessee's attempt to carry out the lethal injection for the 1995 beating and murder of her classmate Colleen Slemmer. The 50-year-old was not fatally affected by the substance and was left with burnt and blistered arms, her lawyers reported.
Since the botched execution, Pike remained unconscious and required ventilator support in hospital. However, she regained consciousness on Tuesday, after early concerns she might have sustained irreversible brain damage.
Legal representative Randy Spivey said on Wednesday that she posed two questions immediately upon waking. She asked: "Where am I and who are you?" He stated: "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."
Legal update on condition
In a new update on Thursday, her lawyers provided an updated assessment of her condition. She managed "limited" steps on Wednesday and needed some support while walking on Thursday, they reported.
Pike's handcuffs have now also been removed - but one foot is still shackled to her hospital bed, her lawyer has said. Luke Ihnen said in a court filing on Thursday: "Ms. Pike’s handcuffs have been removed; however, one foot remains shackled to the bed."
Mr Ihnen insisted the death row killer is "not an escape risk". He added: "Ms. Pike is under guard by three, armed corrections officers. Ms. Pike is not an escape risk. Nor is she physically capable of doing so."
During a court hearing on Wednesday, Pike's lawyers asked for her hand to be unshackled at the request of the medical personnel treating her. But in Thursday’s filing, Mr Ihnen said that since the handcuffs had already been removed, Pike was in fact withdrawing her previous request. It remains unclear who decided to remove them.
