Christa Pike, the Tennessee death row inmate who survived a failed execution attempt last week, is now fighting pneumonia and has lost function in both arms, her attorney revealed Wednesday during a news conference.
Attorney Randy Spivey told reporters that Pike faces a long and difficult recovery after spending six days unconscious on life support following the September 30 execution attempt. He said she is also dealing with a blood clot in one arm and is unable to swallow.
In a stunning development, Pike regained consciousness Tuesday and began speaking, shocking her legal team and medical staff who had believed as recently as Monday night that she was brain dead. Spivey said the first words she spoke were “Where am I and who are you?”
Pike, 50, reportedly woke up angry and confused, asking what had happened and inquiring about both her legal team and the family of her victim. Spivey confirmed she is fully aware that the state attempted to execute her.
Spivey described Pike as cooperative during the execution itself, noting she even helped the execution team locate a suitable vein. He said staff spent an hour attempting to insert the IV before administering the pentobarbital drug, which appeared to enter her arm tissue rather than her bloodstream, rendering it unable to stop her heart.
Medical experts have indicated the drug was potent enough to render her unconscious but failed to carry out its intended lethal effect. Spivey argued the outcome was entirely predictable given that Pike’s lawyers had previously warned the state about her venous condition.
A Tennessee court hearing Wednesday resulted in a judge ordering the state to preserve all evidence connected to the botched execution including IV lines, needles, medical records, drugs, photographs, video footage and witness statements. Chancellor I’Ashea L. Myles ruled that any discarded materials must be recovered and no further evidence may be destroyed.
Pike’s attorneys also requested that she be given phone or tablet access, that her shackles be removed while hospitalized and that her legal team receive timely and unobstructed access to her.
Tennessee Governor Bill Lee has ordered an independent review of the failed execution and suspended all state executions through the end of the year. The state’s prison director Frank Strada announced his resignation days after the incident.
Pike was convicted of the 1995 murder of 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer and had been on death row for over three decades. Whether Tennessee will pursue another execution attempt remains an open legal and constitutional question.