Christa Pike is conscious and speaking after she survived Tennessee’s execution attempt, her attorneys say
By Avni Trivedi, CNN
(CNN) — Christa Pike, a Tennessee inmate who survived Tennessee’s attempt to execute her, is conscious and speaking as she continues to receive medical care at a hospital, according to a statement from her attorneys.
“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,” her attorneys said in a statement.
Pike survived two ostensibly lethal doses of pentobarbital last week after prison staff tried twice to carry out her planned execution for the 1995 murder of 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer.
Pike was to become the first woman executed in Tennessee in 200 years.
During the procedure, executioners struggled to place IV lines to administer the doses of pentobarbital, according to her attorneys. Pike had previously warned the state of her history with difficult vein access.
After her failed execution, Tennessee’s governor, Bill Lee, halted the state’s next scheduled execution, ordered an independent review of her case and announced the state’s prison chief would resign.
Ed Stanton, a former US attorney, will conduct the review of the Department of Correction’s actions in Pike’s case, Lee’s office said.
Her attorneys said they are grateful to the first responders and medical team who “treated Christa like a human and have provided exceptional care to her.”
She is the only person known to survive a complete execution attempt in the United States, according to her attorneys.
They are calling on Tennessee’s governor to commute her sentence to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.
This story has been updated with additional information.
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CNN’s Devon Sayers and Ryan Young contributed to this report.
