Christa Pike now walking after US execution went wrong, lawyer tells BBC

What the report says

BBC World News reports that Christa Pike, a Tennessee death-row prisoner convicted of the 1995 killing of Colleen Slemmer, is recovering in hospital after a failed execution attempt last week. According to her lawyer Stephen Ferrell, Pike is now moving around her hospital room and has begun walking short distances, although she remains mentally foggy and is still dealing with injuries linked to the botched lethal injection.

The BBC says Pike survived two doses of the execution drug pentobarbital on 30 September, a case experts have described as unprecedented. Ferrell told BBC Radio 4 that Pike was initially unconscious and in critical condition but was later described as improving. He said there may still be lasting damage, and that her legal team wants psychological support for her.

The report adds that a Tennessee court has ordered the state to preserve evidence from the execution attempt, including medical equipment and other materials from the room, as well as records about Pike’s condition before, during and after the procedure. That could support a future lawsuit. Pike’s lawyers are opposing any repeat attempt using the same method and are urging Governor Bill Lee to change her sentence to life without parole.

The case has revived debate over capital punishment in Tennessee. The state has paused executions for the rest of the year while officials review what went wrong, and the prisons chief is resigning. Separately, some supporters of the death penalty have called for a different method to be used.