Christa Pike critically ill after botched Tennessee execution, prognosis unknown

Death row inmate Christa Pike remains on a ventilator after two failed execution attempts in Tennessee. Her lawyer says her prognosis is still unclear days later.

Death row inmate still on ventilator days after two failed lethal injections

Christa Pike, 50, remains critically ill in a Nashville hospital and her prognosis is still unclear following two failed execution attempts on Wednesday, her lawyer told CNN on Sunday — as bbc.com reported.

Speaking on Sunday morning, Pike's attorney Stephen Ferrell said doctors were still working to clear two doses of pentobarbital from her body. "She's still in the hospital, on a ventilator, critically ill, we really don't know the prognosis yet, and may not know for several days," Ferrell said.

He does not believe Pike regained consciousness at any point during or after the procedure. Ferrell said he has been receiving updates through her medical power of attorney rather than from doctors directly, and has not visited her in person. "She is guarded. I'm not sure who may have seen her," he added.

Pike was convicted of murdering Colleen Slemmer in 1995, when she was 18 years old. Together with her then-boyfriend Tadaryl Shipp, she beat, tortured and killed Slemmer, who was 19 at the time. Pike was sentenced to death the following year following extensive media coverage of the killing in Knoxville, Tennessee.

Tennessee authorities have not yet indicated whether they intend to attempt a third execution, nor have they offered any explanation for what went wrong. Governor Bill Lee has suspended all executions in the state for the remainder of the year, and the head of Tennessee's prison system announced his resignation on Saturday.

Ferrell called on the governor to commute Pike's sentence to life imprisonment. "She has endured a torturous attempt at executing her," he said. "She's spent over 30 years in prison, most of that in solitary confinement." He added: "We don't know right now — and we may never know — what sort of torture she endured during [her failed execution]."

Questions about Pike's recovery and legal status remain unresolved. "If she recovers — she may not fully recover — and there may be issues about her competence. I mean, we just don't know any of this," Ferrell said. He noted that the Tennessee attorney general's office had not yet communicated any indication of its intentions.

Pike's legal team had previously warned that her medical history — including thrombocytosis, a blood-clotting condition, and small veins — posed a significant risk of pain and suffering during lethal injection.

Slemmer's mother, May Martinez, had travelled to Nashville to witness the execution, which proceeded despite last-minute legal challenges. After learning the procedure had not been successful, Martinez told local outlet WJXX that she "broke down in tears." "I think that the state owes me a big apology," she said.

The state's Department of Correction defended the process, stating that "the protocol does not allow for additional procedures beyond what was carried out."

Source: Google News MT