- BIST10011,722-2.89%
- USD49.45+0.05%
- EUR55.62+0.37%
- GOLD4,181.10+0.26%
- INTEREST37.00%-1.00
- BITCOIN81,450-0.06%
- October 17, 202614°
- BIST10011,722-2.89%
- USD49.45+0.05%
- EUR55.62+0.37%
- GOLD4,181.10+0.26%
- INTEREST37.00%-1.00
- BITCOIN81,450-0.06%
- October 17, 202614°
Christa Pike leaves hospital, returns to prison after surviving Tennessee execution
Christa Pike, who survived a botched lethal injection in Tennessee on Sept. 30, has been released from the hospital and transferred back to prison, where she will keep receiving medical care, her attorneys said Saturday.
Christa Pike, the Tennessee death row inmate who survived a failed lethal injection last month, has been discharged from the hospital and moved back to prison, her legal team announced Saturday.
In a statement, attorneys Stephen Ferrell and Luke Ihnen of Federal Defender Services of Eastern Tennessee and Randy Spivey and Kelly Gleason of the Tennessee Office of the Post-Conviction Defender said Pike will continue to receive medical treatment behind bars and that they will closely monitor her recovery, which they called “medically unprecedented.” They warned she faces a “long road to recovery.”
“She’s clearly cognitively not quite back to normal and may have a long ways to go.” — Attorney Stephen Ferrell
From ventilator to walking
Pike, 50, was injected twice on Sept. 30 but continued breathing and was rushed to a hospital, where she spent days on a ventilator. Her attorneys said at one point they believed she was brain dead, but she regained consciousness on Oct. 6 and by Oct. 8 was walking with assistance and eating. According to the Death Penalty Information Center, she is the first person known to have survived after being administered lethal injection drugs.
Pike was sentenced to death for the 1995 murder of 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer in Knoxville.
Review, resignation and a pause on executions
The failed execution has shaken Tennessee’s death penalty system. Gov. Bill Lee halted scheduled executions, and Department of Correction Commissioner Frank Strada announced his resignation. The governor’s office has appointed former U.S. Attorney Ed Stanton to lead an independent review of whether the state followed its execution protocol and whether changes are needed. The state has said it followed every step of its established protocol.
A Davidson County chancellor this week granted an emergency motion by Pike’s lawyers ordering the Department of Correction to preserve all physical, written and electronic evidence related to the execution attempt. Her attorneys have asked Lee to commute her sentence to life in prison without parole; the state has not said whether it will try to execute her again.
Stay Updated with Ally Daily
Subscribe to be informed about special news, developments and announcements. We will keep you informed.
By signing up, you agree to our Privacy Policy
