US death row inmate Christa Pike awake and speaking after failed execution, lawyers say

What the report says

US death row inmate Christa Pike is reported to be awake and speaking after surviving a failed execution attempt in Tennessee, according to her lawyers, as relayed in the Nile Post article citing BBC reporting. Pike, 50, remains in hospital receiving critical care and is handcuffed while under medical supervision, her attorneys said Tuesday. The case has drawn wide attention because experts say her apparent recovery may be unprecedented in the context of lethal injection.

Pike was convicted in connection with the 1995 killing of Colleen Slemmer, whom she and her then-boyfriend, Tadaryl Shipp, were accused of beating, torturing and killing when Pike was 18. According to the article, Tennessee staff used pentobarbital during the execution attempt last Wednesday, but Pike survived two injections. Her lawyers said the outcome has left her prognosis unclear and that a long recovery is expected.

Authorities have not yet said whether they will attempt another execution or explained what went wrong. Tennessee Governor Bill Lee has suspended executions for the rest of the year, and the state’s prisons chief has said he plans to resign. Pike’s legal team is scheduled to appear in court in Nashville and hold a news conference. The report also notes broader concerns about botched executions in the US, including difficulty obtaining IV access in some cases, while an expert quoted in the article said Pike’s survival appears highly unusual.