US death row inmate Christa Pike awake and speaking after failed execution, lawyers say

US death row inmate Christa Pike is “conscious and speaking” after surviving a failed execution attempt in Tennessee last week, her lawyers revealed on Tuesday. Pike, who is 50 years old, continues to be treated in a hospital while being restrained by handcuffs and shackles. According to an anaesthesiologist who consulted with her legal team, Pike was able to communicate in a “basic way” following the execution attempt, although she does not appear to recall the incident.

Pike was sentenced to death after being convicted of murdering Colleen Slemmer with her then-boyfriend in 1995. She survived two lethal injections on September 30th in Tennessee. Pike is reportedly the only person to have survived an execution by lethal injection, making her recovery status unprecedented. Her legal team believes that her recovery is “unprecedented” and the likelihood of recovering from a lethal injection is low, as explained by the anaesthesiologist working with her team.

Pike remains in critical condition, and her prognosis remains unclear, but her lawyers expect a “long recovery”. The execution attempt was described as a “mess” by Slemmer’s mother. After the apparent failure of the execution, Pike was transferred to the hospital, where she remained unconscious for several days as medical staff worked to clear her body of the injected chemicals.