Tennessee inmate Christa Pike conscious after failed execution, lawyers say

Christa Pike, a death row inmate in Tennessee, is "conscious and speaking" after a failed execution attempt, her lawyers said. The 50-year-old is receiving critical medical care while handcuffed in a hospital in Nashville, Tennessee, according to a statement from her attorneys on Tuesday reported by the BBC. Der Spiegel reported that Pike had been unconscious and connected to a ventilator after surviving the attempt. Her lawyers had said in the days afterwards that she was unconscious while medical staff cleared the pentobarbital from her body, the BBC reported.

Pike survived two lethal injections of the drug pentobarbital last week, according to the BBC; Der Spiegel reported the attempt took place last Wednesday. Her lawyers said her recovery is "medically unprecedented" and that while her prognosis remains unclear, "at a minimum, we expect a long recovery." They said she is the only person known to have survived a completed execution attempt in the US.

Authorities have not said whether they will try again to execute Pike, and have not offered an explanation for what went wrong, the BBC reported. Der Spiegel reported that the reason Pike survived two doses of pentobarbital is still unknown. Tennessee Governor Bill Lee suspended all executions for the rest of the year, and the head of prisons in the state said over the weekend that he plans to resign, according to the BBC.

Pike was sentenced to death for the murder of 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer. The BBC reported she was convicted of murdering Slemmer in 1995, while Der Spiegel reported she was sentenced to death in 1996. Both outlets reported she was 18 years old at the time of the crime.

The BBC reported that Pike and her then-boyfriend, Tadaryl Shipp, beat, tortured and killed Slemmer, whom they had met at a job training camp for troubled teens. Der Spiegel reported that Pike, her boyfriend and an acquaintance tortured and killed their classmate in a remote area near the University of Tennessee in Knoxville. During her imprisonment, Pike was convicted of attempted murder in a separate case after an attack on a fellow inmate, according to US media cited by Der Spiegel.

Der Spiegel reported that the case has prompted a renewed debate in the US about the death penalty and how executions are carried out. The outlet also reported growing criticism of the qualifications and training of the personnel involved in the execution.