Krista Pike, a death row inmate in Tennessee, has regained consciousness six days after authorities failed to carry out her execution by lethal injection. Her attorneys say the 50-year-old is alive, conscious and able to speak.
Pike is currently receiving emergency medical treatment in a hospital, where she remains handcuffed, according to her legal team. The development was reported by the BBC.
Pike was sentenced to death for the 1995 murder of 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer. An attempt was made to execute her by lethal injection last Wednesday in Tennessee. However, she survived despite being administered two doses of the injection.
She was subsequently taken to hospital, where doctors attempted to remove the chemicals administered during the execution procedure from her body. After remaining unconscious for several days, Pike has now regained consciousness and is able to communicate.
Her attorneys have described her recovery as “medically unprecedented.” Doctors, however, say it remains unclear whether she will make a full recovery and warned that the rehabilitation process could be prolonged.
Deborah Denno, a professor at Fordham Law School and a leading expert on capital punishment, told the BBC that she was “absolutely stunned” that Pike had regained consciousness and was able to speak.
According to Denno, there have been seven other cases in the United States in which prisoners survived an attempted execution. In those cases, however, authorities failed to successfully deliver a lethal drug into the prisoners’ bodies.
Pike is believed to be the only person known to have survived after a lethal chemical was actually administered by injection. Denno said the standard procedures required for an execution had been carried out in Pike’s case, but they failed to produce the intended result.
Pike was administered two doses of pentobarbital, a drug commonly used in lethal injection protocols. Authorities have yet to explain why the drug failed to have a fatal effect. It also remains unclear whether officials will make another attempt to execute her.
Following the incident, Tennessee Governor Bill Lee suspended all executions in the state for the remainder of the year. The head of the state’s Department of Correction has also announced plans to resign.
Dr. Joel Zivot, an anesthesiologist advising Pike’s medical team, said the chances of her surviving after the lethal injection were extremely low. In most cases, he noted, prisoners die after receiving such an injection.
Zivot said several crucial questions remain unanswered, including how much pentobarbital actually entered Pike’s bloodstream, what concentration of the drug was present in her blood following the injection and what long-term physical consequences she may face.
He believes the pentobarbital may have spread into tissue beneath Pike’s skin rather than entering her bloodstream properly. He also raised concerns that delays in providing medical treatment after the injection could have caused brain damage.
Pike’s attorneys had previously warned that her physical condition, narrow veins and thrombocytosis could make the administration of a lethal injection particularly painful and potentially expose her to unnecessary suffering. On Tuesday, they said both of her arms had suffered serious injuries.
According to the Death Penalty Information Center, more than one-third of executions carried out in the United States in 2022 involved flawed procedures or serious problems. In lethal injection cases, such complications commonly arise when authorities are unable to establish reliable intravenous access.
Tennessee itself witnessed a similar incident earlier this year. The execution of Tony Carruthers, who was convicted of kidnapping and murdering three people in 1994, was halted in May after officials failed to locate a suitable vein through which to administer the lethal injection. Governor Lee subsequently postponed his execution for one year.
Pike was 18 when she and her then-boyfriend, Tadaryl Shipp, killed Slemmer. The two had met at a vocational training camp for troubled teenagers.
Pike’s attorneys are scheduled to appear in a Nashville court on Wednesday. They are also expected to hold a news conference outside the courthouse afterward.
Source: BBC