Death row inmate Christa Pike is conscious and speaking while receiving treatment in a Tennessee hospital following her unsuccessful execution attempt, her attorneys said.
The 50-year-old was placed on a ventilator after officials failed to execute her by lethal injection at a Tennessee prison on Wednesday.
Almost a week later, Pike’s legal team reported that she was “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 lawyers said. “Her recovery is medically unprecedented. Her prognosis remains unclear but, at a minimum, we expect a long recovery.”
Medical workers reportedly used at least seven needles while attempting to administer two lethal doses of pentobarbital. Pike’s lawyers previously said the effort left her arms “swollen, burned, and blistered.”
Her attorneys also expressed gratitude to the Vanderbilt medical staff, saying they had “treated Christa like a human and have provided exceptional care to her.”
The statement marks the first indication that Pike’s condition has improved since she was taken from the Debra K. Johnson Rehabilitation Center in Nashville to a hospital last week.
On Friday, her lawyers said doctors were attempting to remove the pentobarbital from her system.
Convicted murderer Christa Pike is awake and speaking in hospital after Tennessee’s failed lethal-injection attempt, according to her attorneys
Pike remains under medical care at Vanderbilt University Medical Center
She continues to be treated at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.
The update came days after Tennessee Department of Correction Commissioner Frank Strada announced his resignation.
Strada, who led the state prison system during Pike’s attempted execution, is expected to leave his post later this month. Governor Bill Lee announced Saturday that an interim commissioner will be appointed.
A motion filed after the failed execution described the difficulties medical staff faced. “At one point, Ms Pike herself offered guidance on where the IV team could attempt access; one needle was bent at a 90-degree angle when it was removed,” the filing stated.
According to her attorneys, Pike was given two rounds of syringes containing the lethal drug and could be heard crying, whimpering, and breathing heavily during the procedure.
At one stage, Pike reportedly said, “My arm feels like it’s about to burst open.” She later asked, “Does this happen like that?”
Strada described his time in office as a “great honor” and said he continued to believe the department had fulfilled its duties under established procedures.
“Even so, stepping aside is in the best interest of Tennesseans as the independent review moves forward,” he said.
“I believe this review is entirely appropriate and necessary, and I look forward to doing everything I can to help determine exactly what occurred.”
Pike has spent 30 years on death row after being convicted in the 1995 murder of her Knoxville Jobs Corps classmate, Colleen Slemmer, pictured
The governor said Strada ‘served with integrity’ and that he ‘appreciated his willingness to put the interests of Tennesseans first during this difficult moment.’
But Pike’s team has continued to argue that the department failed the inmate who has been on death row for 30 years after she was convicted of the 1995 murder of her Knoxville Jobs Corp classmate Colleen Slemmer.
Pike’s attorneys said they believed problems with the IV lines caused the pentobarbital to flow into her body instead of her bloodstream.
‘Apparently at no point did any member of the execution team realize that the IV lines were not correctly placed or that the veins had blown and that the pentobarbital was, in whole or in part, entering Ms Pike’s body,’ the lawyers wrote in the court filing.
Instead of ‘remedying this failure,’ they prepared and administered a backup set of pentobarbital syringes, they wrote.
Her lawyers are seeking to have all of the evidence from her botched execution preserved so they can ensure accountability and protect her legal rights.
Her health update comes just days after the Tennessee Department of Correction Commissioner Frank Strada resigned
‘We are working closely with those closest to Christa to respect her wishes, safeguard her privacy and protect her rights as a patient during this extraordinarily difficult time,’ said Luke Ihnen, attorney for Pike with Federal Defender Services of Eastern Tennessee.
‘We ask that the public and the media respect that privacy as well.’
Just hours before Pike was rushed out of prison, her execution was dramatically halted after the US Court of Appeals issued a stay of execution order.
That came after a judge agreed to consider whether childhood sexual abuse she suffered was taken into account when she was first sentenced.
Breaking news… Updates to follow.