Recovery after the failed execution

Christa Pike, 50, has begun walking and eating again at a hospital a week after Tennessee's attempt to execute her on 30 September. Her attorneys said on Thursday that she took her first steps on Wednesday, needed some help walking, and ate for the first time. She is also regaining mobility in her arms, which were left burned and blistered. She was unconscious and on a ventilator for the first few days, and regained consciousness on 6 October, according to Al Jazeera. Her lawyers said she still struggles with concentration and memory, and doctors say it is too early to assess the long-term effects.

A separate El Confidencial report said Pike had developed pneumonia and a blood clot in one arm, and that she could not swallow. That account differs from the eating reported by her lawyers, and the report cites her lawyer Randy Spivey saying her first words on waking were 'Where am I?' and 'Who are you?'.

Court order and evidence

On Wednesday a Tennessee court ordered officials to preserve all evidence from the failed execution, which could lay the groundwork for a future lawsuit against the state. Judge I'Ashea Myles ordered that IV lines, syringes and waste be kept, and demanded documentation on Pike's psychological condition before, during and after the attempt. Pike's lawyers have argued that one IV line may have failed and that pentobarbital may have leaked outside the vein, a hypothesis that still has to be established through investigation. Myles put the scope of the order plainly:

“anything that was in the actual room needs to be preserved and maintained”

Trouw reported that Pike's lawyers argue the execution amounted to torture and violates the ban on cruel punishment. AP reported that the case is legally uncharted territory for Tennessee, and experts it spoke to said a lawsuit could take years.

Tennessee's response

Republican Governor Bill Lee has paused executions and ordered a review of why the attempt failed. AP reports he postponed the state's only other scheduled execution this year, and Al Jazeera quoted him promising a 'comprehensive, third-party review.' The state's prison chief resigned after the attempt, which Europa Press identified as Frank Strada. Texas carried out an execution on Wednesday, the first in the US since the Tennessee attempt, according to AP. Pike's lawyers will urge Lee to commute her sentence to life in prison without parole, and said she should never face another execution attempt.

A rare record in lethal injections

Witnesses reported that Pike kept breathing, snored and lifted parts of her body off the gurney after the injections, according to Al Jazeera. The outlet also reported that six states, including Tennessee and Texas, have recorded at least one botched lethal injection since 2022. Robin Maher, executive director of the Death Penalty Information Center, a Washington nonprofit, said:

“This is an opportunity for everyone to stop and really carefully examine all of the ways in which this execution went wrong and to make good decisions about how to move forward, if we're going to move forward with this method of execution.”

The BBC reported that Pike is believed to be the only person to have survived an execution attempt by lethal injection. She was convicted of killing 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer in 1995 with her then-boyfriend Tadaryl Shipp, who was spared the death penalty because he was 17 and remains in prison.

Open questions

Pike's lawyers said they do not know the full emotional and psychological toll of the attempt or how long her recovery will take. It remains unclear whether Tennessee will seek a new execution date, and the evidence order could support a future lawsuit against the state. Pike continues to express concern for others, particularly the family of her victim, her lawyers said.