Christa Pike remains critically ill after failed Tennessee execution
Pike has not regained consciousness, according to her lawyer Stephen Ferrell, who said her prognosis remained unclear as medical staff worked to clear two doses of pentobarbital from her system
US murderer Christa Pike, 50, remains critically ill and on a ventilator at a Nashville hospital after surviving two separate lethal injection attempts, her lawyer said.
Pike has not regained consciousness, according to her lawyer Stephen Ferrell, who said her prognosis remained unclear as medical staff worked to clear two doses of pentobarbital from her system, says the BBC.
Ferrell said it could take several days to determine Pike's outlook and that it remained unknown whether there could be issues concerning her future cognitive competence.
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Execution attempt
Witnesses inside the execution chamber reported hearing Pike complain of pain in her arm, followed by roughly an hour of breathing and snoring sounds before she was taken to hospital.
Pike's legal team had previously warned state officials that her underlying medical conditions, including thrombocytosis, a blood-clotting disorder, and small veins, created a high risk of unnecessary pain and suffering during lethal injection.
The Tennessee Department of Correction said its lethal injection protocol does not permit procedures beyond what was carried out. Authorities have not provided a detailed explanation for the failure.
State fallout
Tennessee Governor Bill Lee suspended all scheduled executions in the state for the remainder of the year following the failed execution.
The head of Tennessee's state prison system also announced his resignation.
Ferrell has called on Lee to commute Pike's death sentence to life imprisonment, saying she endured a "torturous attempt" at execution after spending more than 30 years in prison, mostly in solitary confinement.
The Tennessee Attorney General's office has not indicated whether it will seek to schedule another execution attempt.
1995 killing
Pike was 18 when she and her then-boyfriend, Tadaryl Shipp, tortured and killed 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer in Knoxville, Tennessee, in 1995. Pike was sentenced to death the following year.
Slemmer's mother, May Martinez, travelled to Nashville for the execution and wept after learning that Pike had survived.
"I think that the state owes me a big apology", Martinez said.
