Botched execution: Christa Pike conscious after failed lethal injection in Tennessee

Christa Pike, convicted of a 1995 campus murder, regained consciousness six days after a failed execution. The victim's mother says she doubts Tennessee will try again.

Victim's mother speaks out as death row killer wakes after failed lethal injection

The mother of Colleen Slemmer, the 19-year-old murdered by Christa Pike in 1995, has said she does not expect Tennessee to make a second attempt to execute her daughter's killer, The Sun reports. May Martinez told NBC affiliate WBIR she had suspected Pike would survive the botched procedure. "It doesn't matter what I think," Martinez said. "They're going to do what they're going to do."

Pike, now 50, regained consciousness six days after the failed execution attempt at Riverbend Maximum Security Institution in Nashville. Her attorneys, Randy Spivey and Kelly Gleason, confirmed on Tuesday that she was conscious and able to speak. "Against all odds, Christa Pike is conscious, speaking, and continues to receive critical medical care," the pair said in a statement. "Her recovery is medically unprecedented. Her prognosis remains unclear but, at a minimum, we expect a long recovery."

Two doses failed to kill; arms left 'swollen and blistered'

Pike had been scheduled for execution by lethal injection last Wednesday. She received two doses of pentobarbital — both intended to be lethal — but survived. Her legal team has claimed that her arms were left "swollen, burned, and blistered" after repeated failed attempts to establish intravenous access before the drugs were administered.

Spivey, who witnessed the execution attempt, said officials struggled extensively to find a vein. "I counted at least seven needles used in her left arm alone," he said, adding that one needle "appeared to be bent when it was pulled from her left arm after an unsuccessful attempt." Witnesses also described hearing Pike apparently snoring or choking after the drugs were administered. Her body reportedly lifted off the gurney into a V-shape at one point.

Medical expert cautious despite encouraging signs

Pike remains in intensive care but has reportedly been taken off a ventilator. Dr Joel Zivot, a medical expert who consulted for her legal team, said the development "bodes well for a good recovery" but cautioned against optimism. "She's still in the ICU. She has recovered to a certain degree that she's able to be off a ventilator and able to speak, but in no way would I announce her free of further serious risk," he said. "There's still a lot of bad things that can happen here, even when everyone is doing their job well."

Prior to regaining consciousness, Pike had been unconscious and on a ventilator, with her lawyers fearing she may have suffered brain damage.

Governor orders review; corrections commissioner resigns

Tennessee Governor Bill Lee has ordered an independent review of the failed execution and halted all executions in the state for the remainder of the year. Frank Strada, the Tennessee Department of Correction commissioner, resigned over the weekend as the investigation continues.

Whether the state will seek to execute Pike a second time remains unresolved. Vanderbilt Law School professor Christopher Slobogin told WSMV4 that her lawyers could now mount a significant constitutional challenge to any further lethal injection attempt. "Given what we know now, how she responds to lethal injection, and given what happened to her, Christa Pike's lawyers have a pretty good argument that it would be a violation of the Eighth Amendment to execute her using lethal injection," he said.

The original 1995 murder

Pike was sentenced to death for the torture and murder of Slemmer on the University of Tennessee-Knoxville campus more than three decades ago. Two others were implicated in the killing. Pike's then-boyfriend Tadaryl Shipp was convicted of first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit first-degree murder but received a life sentence rather than the death penalty because he was 17 at the time of the offence. Shadolla Peterson, who was 18, was convicted of being an accessory and was later paroled after becoming a police informant.

Pike's lawyers were due to hold a press conference on Wednesday as questions persist over her recovery and whether the state could ever lawfully attempt to execute her again.

Source: The Sun