Christa Pike is awake and speaking after surviving a botched execution that left her unconscious and on a ventilator, her lawyers have said
Christa Pike is defying all expectations as she continues her recovery in hospital after surviving two doses of the lethal injection last week.
The Tennessee death row inmate is now awake and communicating following the failed execution that left her unconscious and reliant on a ventilator. Pike, 50, has spent three decades on death row for the brutal beating and stabbing of her classmate Colleen Slemmer in 1995.
Six days after the botched execution, her lawyers have provided an astonishing update on her health. In a statement, Pike’s attorneys 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.”
Her legal team expressed their gratitude towards the first responders and the medical staff at the hospital “who treated Christa like a human and have provided exceptional care to her.”
Since regaining consciousness, more details about her recovery have emerged. Here’s everything we know so far…
The prognosis
Her attorneys stated that her prognosis remains uncertain and that she faces a lengthy recovery. They added: “Christa is a survivor and will take recovery one day at a time.”
Pike remains in ICU
Dr Joel Zivot, a professor of anaesthesiology and surgery in Atlanta who served as an expert consultant for Pike’s legal team, said the development “bodes well for a good recovery.”
However, he cautioned, 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.
Providing an update on her hospital ward he said: “She’s still in the ICU.”
Hospital staff ‘provided exceptional care’
Pike’s barristers 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.”
‘Shackled and handcuffed’
Her legal representatives have revealed details about her condition in hospital as she recovers, stating: “Despite the severe damage she endured to her arms, she is still handcuffed and shackled to the bed. Her recovery is medically unprecedented.”
They described her arms as being burned and blistered.
Court date set
Pike’s solicitors are due in court Wednesday as they seek to learn more about what happened in the failed lethal injection.
The legal team are pursuing 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.
In a statement released on Tuesday, Pike’s legal team reiterated their plea to outgoing Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee to commute Pike’s sentence to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.
Following Pike’s hospitalisation, Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee put a stop to further executions and ordered a “comprehensive, third-party review to determine exactly what occurred.”