Attorneys Say Christa Pike Is Awake and Speaking Almost a Week After Botched Execution

Christa Pike is awake and talking again, nearly a week after a failed death row execution.

Her attorneys have announced that she is conscious and still under critical medical care, in the midst of a recovery they cannot fully explain.

"Against all odds, Christa Pike is conscious, speaking, and continues to receive critical medical care," the legal team said.

The statement went on to detail what the Sept. 30 execution attempt left behind.

"Despite the severe damage she endured to her arms, she is still handcuffed and shackled to the bed," her attorneys said. "Her recovery is medically unprecedented. Her prognosis remains unclear but, at a minimum, we expect a long recovery."

Pike now appears to be the first person to survive an execution in the United States.

Her lawyers say the difficulty of reaching a vein was flagged to the state months in advance.

"Her blood draws were difficult. She has a blood disorder that contributes to that, and we knew this was coming," said her attorney, Stephen Ferrell. "So back in January, we asked that this problem be addressed in a way that would not lead to the torture that happened last night."

Pike was sentenced to death for the murder of 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer in 1995. She is the first woman that Tennessee tried to put to death since the early 19th century.

During the execution attempt, Pike’s attorneys and journalists claimed that the two-and-a-half-hour-long event was distressing because of Correction Department personnel struggling to give her two doses of pentobarbital. Pike said out loud during the procedure, “My arm feels like it’s about to burst open.”
The failed attempt to establish intravenous lines in her arms left them both swollen, burned, and blistered, according to court filings from her lawyers.

Pike’s petition for clemency was denied by Republican Governor Bill Lee two days before her scheduled execution.