Attorneys describe Christa Pike's emotional reaction after waking up
On Monday night, Pike's legal team was told that Pike was braindead, and life support would be removed. But Pike woke up on Tuesday and began speaking.
Christa Pike, a 50-year-old woman sentenced to death for a 1995 murder, was taken to a Nashville hospital a week ago after a botched execution attempt. According to her lawyers, Pike was unconscious and critically ill with severe arm injuries after two injections of pentobarbital failed to kill her.
As of Monday, Pike's lawyers believed she was brain dead and that life support would be removed. However, on Tuesday, she unexpectedly woke up and began speaking. Her lawyers described her as being "angry and confused". Pike is currently suffering from pneumonia, severe swelling, and difficulty eating and moving her arms.
A judge has ordered Tennessee officials to preserve all evidence related to the botched execution attempt, including drugs, intravenous lines, and tubing used in the death chamber. According to Channel News Asia, Tennessee has suspended executions for the rest of the year. Pike remains restrained in her hospital bed, with a judge refusing medical staff's pleas to allow her to be unshackled.
Brief written by urgent.news from The Hill, Channel News Asia, The Guardian US, The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald — 5 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
