Christa Pike, a Tennessee death row inmate, is conscious, speaking, and receiving intensive medical care, her legal team announced on 6/10. "Despite all difficulties, her recovery is medically unprecedented", the lawyers stated. They noted that both her arms are severely injured, yet she remains handcuffed and chained to the bed. While her prognosis is unclear, they anticipate a prolonged recovery.

Pike, 50, was the first woman scheduled for execution in Tennessee in over 200 years. She survived two doses of pentobarbital at Nashville prison on 30/9.

Death row inmate Christa Pike at Knox County Criminal Court, Tennessee on 4/12/2007. Photo: Reuters

Her lawyers stated that execution staff struggled to find a vein for the lethal injection. Witnesses reported that after the first dose, Pike showed signs of choking and struggled for about one hour. The second dose also failed to be fatal, leading to her hospitalization and placement on a ventilator in critical condition.

Randy Spivey, one of Pike's lawyers, described the procedure as "cruel and torturous". He counted 7 needle sticks on her left arm, noting one appeared bent upon withdrawal. Pike had previously informed state officials about her difficult-to-locate veins.

Following the incident, Governor Bill Lee suspended a subsequent state execution, ordered an independent review, and announced the resignation of Tennessee's prison system head. Ed Stanton, a former US federal prosecutor, was appointed to review the Tennessee Department of Correction's handling of the event.

Pike's lawyers contend she is the only known case in the US to survive a completed execution attempt. The legal team continues to urge Governor Lee to commute her sentence to life imprisonment without parole.

Inside the execution chamber at Riverbend Prison in Nashville, Tennessee. Photo: Tennessean

Pike received a death sentence for the 1995 murder of Colleen Slemmer, 19, a classmate at the Job Corps program in Knoxville, Tennessee. Pike was 18 at the time, and her boyfriend was 17. The case gained notoriety for its occult elements, including the use of a box cutter to slash Slemmer's throat and abdomen, an inverted pentagram carved into the victim's chest, and Pike possessing a piece of skull.

Pike has never denied her involvement in the murder. She was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder. Prior to her execution, Pike spent nearly 30 years in solitary confinement. In her clemency plea, Pike stated she was a mentally ill 18-year-old at the time of the crime, taking years to fully comprehend the severity of her actions.

Thanh Danh (According to CNN, Guardian)