Christa Pike is conscious and talking after botched execution – Lawyers

Christa Pike, the Tennessee woman who survived an execution attempt last week, is conscious, speaking and receiving medical care, NBC News reports. Her attorneys described the development as “unprecedented.” In a Tuesday statement, lawyers Randy Spivey and Kelly Gleason said Pike remains handcuffed and shackled despite significant injuries to her arms after two injections of pentobarbital failed to kill her. Her prognosis is unclear.

“At a minimum, we expect a long recovery,” the attorneys said. Prison officials administered the injections Wednesday in an attempt to execute Pike, 50, for the 1995 murder of her classmate Colleen Slemmer. Pike was 18 at the time. She would have been the first woman executed in Tennessee in 200 years.

Gov. Bill Lee ordered an independent review and paused all executions for the rest of the year. Pike’s attorneys believe IV line problems may have caused the drug to enter her body instead of her bloodstream. Frank Strada, Tennessee’s top prison official, resigned Saturday.