Christa Pike, the prisoner on death row in the US state of Tennessee, is conscious and speaking following a botched execution attempt, her lawyers said on Tuesday. The 50-year-old Pike continues to receive critical medical care, attached to restraints in a hospital, according to a statement from her legal representatives.
Pike was sentenced to death after being found guilty of killing Colleen Slemmer in 1995. She survived two lethal injections on Wednesday, after which she was transferred to a hospital in Nashville for treatment. Her lawyers said on the days following that she was unconscious while medical staff removed the pentobarbital injected into her body.
On Tuesday, her lawyers stated that her recovery was 'unprecedented'. Her prognosis remains unclear, and her lawyers expect that, at the very least, a long period of recovery will follow. They stated that Pike is the only known person in the United States to have survived a completed execution attempt.
Authorities have not yet stated whether they will attempt to execute Pike again, nor have they provided an explanation of what went wrong. The governor of Tennessee, Bill Lee, has suspended all executions until the end of the year, and the head of the state prison system said over the weekend that he would resign.
Dr. Joel Zivot, an anaesthetist advising Pike's defence, stated that the two doses of pentobarbital she received would have been sufficient to have killed her had it entered her bloodstream via normal circulation. Zvit believes that a possible explanation is that the pentobarbital, rather than entering the bloodstream, spread through the tissue under her skin. He added that brain injury is 'very possible' as resuscitation was not performed immediately, and that it would take 'at least a week' for the pentobarbital in her system to dissipate, allowing for 'a good neurological examination'.
'Even with all available interventions, her chances of survival remain uncertain,' said Zvit. He added that it is likely she will have 'serious medical conditions that could significantly alter' the way she lives. BBC contacted Zvit for further comment after Pike regained consciousness.
Lawyers for Christa Pike had previously warned that her medical history and anatomy, including thrombocytosis, a condition related to blood clotting, and small veins, meant a risk that she would experience 'unnecessary' pain and suffering during the lethal injection. On Tuesday, they stated that she had suffered 'severe damage' to her hands.
