Pike speaking in hospital after failed Tennessee execution
Her lawyers say she remains in critical care with severe arm injuries and faces a long recovery; her prognosis is unclear.
Christa Pike is conscious and able to speak nearly a week after Tennessee’s failed lethal injection attempt, according to a statement from her lawyers reported by Al Jazeera. She remains in hospital receiving critical care.
The lawyers said Pike had severe damage to her arms and was still handcuffed and shackled to her hospital bed. They expect a long recovery but said her prognosis remains unclear.
The 30 September attempt has renewed debate over lethal injection and the death penalty in the United States. Pike is believed to be the first person in the country to survive a lethal injection execution attempt, though that account is not confirmed in the available information.
Pike was sentenced to death in 1996 for participating in the 1995 murder of her classmate Colleen Slemmer, who was 19. The Death Penalty Information Center, citing researcher Austin Sarat, estimates that 3 per cent of US executions from 1890 to 2010 were botched.
