Christa Pike is conscious and speaking at a hospital nearly one week after the botched execution, her attorneys said on Tuesday.
“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,” attorneys for Pike said in a statement, according to The Associated Press.
Christa Pike’s attorneys thanked the first responders and the medical team at the hospital “who treated Christa like a human and have provided exceptional care to her.”
Christa Pike, 50, was sentenced to death for a 1995 fatal stabbing, torture and beating of 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer.
An inverted pentagram was carved into Slemmer’s chest during the gruesome murder.
Pike was 18 at the time of the murder. Pike’s boyfriend, Tadaryl Shipp, was also convicted of the 1995 murder.
Last Wednesday, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals voted 2-1 to halt the execution to determine whether Pike’s allegations of childhood sexual abuse were taken into consideration during her death penalty sentencing.
Tennessee’s Attorney General immediately appealed to the Supreme Court. A few hours later, the Supreme Court allowed Tennessee to go forward with the execution.
The drama wasn’t over yet because late Wednesday night, Christa Pike’s attorneys said that Tennessee executioners administered two syringes of pentobarbital and Pike was still alive.
Pike was snoring as she was strapped down to a gurney inside Riverbend Maximum Security Institution in Nashville.
She was later rushed to a hospital and was intubated.
Legal experts warned last week that the Supreme Court has barred the execution of a condemned prisoner who is medically unconscious.
An unconscious or comatose person cannot be executed because they lack awareness, legal experts said.
Christa Pike is now awake and talking so stay tuned!
