Christa Pike has no memory of botched execution: Doctor reveals what she said after regaining consciousness

Christa Pike, the 50-year-old death row inmate in Tennessee who survived two lethal injections, is now conscious and able to speak. Dr. Joel Zivot, an anesthesiologist advising Pike's attorneys, told BBC that Pike does not remember the execution attempt but has been able to communicate in a "basic way." She reportedly believed that it was still September.

Pike was given two doses of pentobarbital during the attempted execution at the Riverbend Maximum Security Institution in Nashville on September 25. Her attorneys claimed that execution personnel used at least seven needles but failed to administer pentobarbital through intravenous lines. One of the needles reportedly bent at a 90-degree angle, as per a report in the New York Post.

Christa Pike conscious after botched execution

The attempted execution got underway around 7:30 p.m. on Sept. 30 when Pike was given a chance to make a final statement. About five minutes later, Pike raised her head and said her arm was hurting. At some point she appeared to lose consciousness, but she could be heard audibly breathing until media were escorted from the witness room at 8:53 p.m. An ambulance arrived at the prison at 9:14 p.m. to take Pike to a hospital.


Pike's arms were reportedly burned and blistered after the attempted lethal injection. She was initially transferred to a hospital in an unconscious and critical condition following the failed execution. She was intubated to help her breathe and was later taken off the ventilator. Her attorneys said she remains conscious and is continuing to receive critical medical care.

Despite being hospitalized, Pike remains handcuffed and shackled to her hospital bed, according to her legal team.

"Against all odds, Christa Pike is conscious, speaking, and continues to receive critical medical care," her attorneys said in a statement.

Why was Christa Pike on death row?

Pike was sentenced to death for the January 1995 murder of her 19-year-old classmate, Colleen Slemmer. Pike was convicted of torturing and killing Slemmer in a wooded area near the University of Tennessee. She was 18 years old at the time of the murder. Her death sentence has remained in place for decades, making her case one of the longest-running capital punishment cases in Tennessee.

What happens to Christa Pike now?

Pike's legal team have urged Tennessee Governor Bill Lee to commute Pike's death sentence, arguing that she has "endured punishment greater than any other person in the history of the American death penalty."

The legal team argues that the circumstances surrounding the failed execution should be considered as part of its request to commute Pike's death sentence.

Pike’s attorneys are set to attend a status hearing on the case in Nashville on Wednesday, where they are planning to request a court order compelling the Tennessee Department of Correction to preserve evidence in the case and provide more information.

Dr. Joel said it could be weeks or months before anyone knows exactly what her recovery might look like, and whether her competency could be restored so the state can try again to execute her.

With AP Inputs