Christa Pike Is Conscious And Speaking After Botched Execution

Convicted murderer Christa Pike is conscious and speaking nearly a week after Tennessee’s attempt to execute her by lethal injection failed, her attorneys said Tuesday.

Pike was hospitalized immediately after the September 30 execution attempt, and it was initially unclear whether she would regain consciousness. Her attorneys issued a statement on Tuesday saying that she was making the first steps in what they expected to be a “long recovery.”

“Against all odds, Christa Pike is conscious, speaking, and continues to receive critical medical care. Despite the severe damage she endured to her arms, she is still handcuffed and shackled to the bed. Her recovery is medically unprecedented. Her prognosis remains unclear but, at a minimum, we expect a long recovery,” the statement read.

Attorney Stephen Ferrell appeared on Sunday’s broadcast of CNN’s “State of the Union,” calling on Governor Bill Lee (R-TN) to commute Pike’s death sentence after the botched execution attempt.

“We don’t know the prognosis and may not know for several days,” he said at the time. “I think at the very least the governor should commute Ms. Pike’s death sentence to a life sentence. We don’t know what her physical state will be, but it is clear that she has endured a torturous attempt at executing her.”

Pike survived two lethal doses of pentobarbital, prompting an immediate inquiry into how that could have happened. Injuries documented on Pike’s arms raised questions about whether the IV lines had been placed properly or her veins had ruptured, potentially allowing the drug to enter surrounding tissue rather than a vein.

In the wake of the botched attempt, Correction Commissioner Frank Strada said he believed the state had followed protocol to the letter but offered his resignation anyway, saying it was “in the best interest of Tennesseans.”

Pike’s attorneys said Strada’s resignation “is justified, but it does nothing to help Christa now.”

Pike was sentenced to death for her prominent role in the 1995 torture and murder of her 19-year-old classmate Colleen Slemmer. Pike, then 18, along with her boyfriend Tadaryl Shipp and friend Marissa Barr, repeatedly beat and cut Slemmer, carving a pentagram into her chest.

In the end, it was Pike who killed Slemmer by dropping a heavy piece of asphalt on her head. She kept a piece of Slemmer’s skull as a souvenir and was arrested two days later after showing it to others. She was 20 years old when she was sentenced to die — the youngest death row inmate in Tennessee.

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