Inmate Takes First Steps After Botched Execution Attempt
Christa Pike, who survived a failed execution in Tennessee last week, has begun walking with assistance and eating, her lawyers reported.
Christa Pike, the Tennessee inmate who survived a botched execution attempt last week, has taken her first steps with assistance, her lawyers announced Thursday. Pike, 50, also ate for the first time since the Sept. 30 incident, which left her in critical condition after two doses of the lethal injection drug pentobarbital failed to kill her.
Pike's attorneys stated that while her physical recovery has been significant, questions remain about the long-term effects of the experience, including psychological trauma and potential cognitive impairment. She regained consciousness Tuesday and was able to speak, but lawyers noted challenges with concentration and memory.
Doctors have indicated it is too early to determine the full extent of any lasting physical or mental impacts. Pike was convicted of the 1995 beating and stabbing death of her high school classmate, Colleen Slemmer.
The failed execution has intensified scrutiny of the death penalty process in the United States. The day after Pike's execution attempt, Texas carried out the first execution in the U.S. since the Tennessee incident. Pike's legal team plans to advocate for Republican Gov. Bill Lee to commute her death sentence to life in prison without the possibility of parole, arguing she should not face another execution attempt.