US inmate who survived 2 lethal injections conscious and speaking
What's the story
Christa Pike, a 50-year-old death row inmate in the United States, is now "conscious and speaking" after surviving a botched execution attempt last week. Her lawyers said she is receiving critical medical care at a hospital while being handcuffed. Pike was sentenced to death for murdering classmate Colleen Slemmer in 1995. She survived two failed lethal injections last Wednesday in Tennessee and was taken to the hospital.
Medical mystery
Experts baffled by pike's recovery
Pike's apparent recovery has left experts and her legal team baffled as she is thought to be the first person to survive a lethal injection.
Fordham Law School criminologist Deborah Denno expressed her astonishment at Pike's condition, telling the BBC, "They did everything they were supposed to do as part of the execution process, and it simply didn't work."
Denno noted that while there have been seven other cases of prisoners surviving executions, none involved actual injections.
Execution failure
Chances of recovering from lethal injection 'slim': Doctor
Dr. Joel Zivot, an anesthesiologist advising Pike's defense team, said the chances of recovering from a lethal injection are slim.
He said the two doses of pentobarbital injected into Pike would have been fatal had they entered her bloodstream normally.
However, he speculated that instead of entering her bloodstream, the drug might have dispersed across tissue under her skin.
Legal concerns
Lawyers warn of 'unnecessary' pain during execution
Pike's lawyers had earlier warned that her medical history and anatomy posed a risk of "unnecessary" pain during the execution.
They also said she has suffered "severe damage" to her arms during the process.
The Death Penalty Information Center reported that in 2022, over a third of executions in the US were botched or problematic, with issues usually arising from difficulty obtaining reliable IV access.
Execution suspension
Tennessee governor suspends executions
In light of Pike's case, Tennessee Governor Bill Lee has suspended all executions for the rest of the year.
Pike's attorneys are scheduled to appear in court on Wednesday to learn more about what happened during the failed lethal injection.
They stated in a statement on Tuesday that they will continue to petition outgoing Tennessee Governor Bill Lee to reduce Pike's sentence to life in prison without the possibility of parole.