Christa Pike Recovering, Speaking in Full Sentences After Botched Execution
The Tennessee inmate, who survived a lethal injection attempt, is showing improved mobility and speech, her lawyers reported.
Christa Pike is speaking in full sentences and her mobility has improved more than a month after a botched execution attempt in Tennessee, her lawyers stated Wednesday.
Pike, 50, who was administered two doses of a lethal injection drug on September 30, is reportedly able to walk better without assistance and her speech has considerably improved, according to one of her attorneys who spoke with TMZ. Medical staff, however, continue to monitor her cognitive and psychological functioning, and the potential long-term effects of the procedure may not be known for over a month.
Pike was scheduled to be the first woman executed in Tennessee in two centuries, but she became the first prisoner to survive a lethal injection. Following the failed execution, she was transported to a hospital for treatment. She regained consciousness and was able to speak less than a week later, with her first words reportedly being, “Where am I?”
During her hospitalization, Pike experienced a blood clot in her arm and pneumonia, and was initially unable to eat. She was discharged from the hospital on October 10 and returned to the prison where she has been held for over 30 years.