Christa Pike is now speaking in complete sentences, more than a month after surviving a failed execution in Tennessee, according to her attorneys, who provided an update Wednesday.
The 50-year-old death-row inmate has also regained some mobility after receiving two doses of a lethal injection drug on Sept. 30, her lawyer told TMZ. Pike survived the procedure, which was intended to end her life.
Her attorneys said she can walk with less assistance than before, while her ability to communicate has improved significantly.
Doctors and other medical professionals continue to monitor Pike closely, particularly for possible changes to her cognitive abilities and psychological health, her legal team said.
Her attorney cautioned that it may be more than a month before the full, long-term consequences of the botched execution become clear.
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Pike had been scheduled to become Tennessee’s first woman executed in two centuries. Instead, the failed procedure made her the first known prisoner to survive a lethal injection.
Following the unsuccessful execution attempt, Pike was taken to a nearby hospital. Her attorneys said she was awake and able to speak less than a week later.
When Pike regained consciousness at the hospital on Oct. 6, her first words were reportedly, “Where am I?” her lawyers previously said.
The execution attempt left Pike with a blood clot in her arm and pneumonia. She was also unable to eat during her hospitalization.
Pike was discharged from the hospital on Oct. 10 and returned to the prison where she has been held for more than 30 years.
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