Christa Pike memories: Here's what the doctor reveals about what she remembers after the botched execution

Christa Pike has finally gained consciousness and is speaking after surviving a bungled lethal injection in Tennessee. The 50-year-old death row inmate can remember parts of her time in the hospital, although a doctor who has advised her legal team said she does not appear to remember the execution attempt itself.

Pike was taken to the hospital after the failed execution last week. Her lawyers now say she has been taken off a ventilator and is able to communicate in a basic way, though her recovery is expected to take time.

What does Christa Pike remember?

Dr. Joel Zivot, an anesthesiologist who has advised Pike's legal team, told the BBC that Pike can remember being in the hospital. “She has some memories of being in the hospital but no memory, I believe, of the execution attempt,” Zivot said, as quoted in a report by the New York Post.

He said Pike is able to communicate in a “basic way.” She also made an incorrect guess about the date, believing it was still September. Pike had been intubated after being taken to the hospital so medical professionals could work to clear pentobarbital from her system.

Her attorneys said Tuesday that she is now conscious and speaking. “Against all odds, Christa Pike is conscious, speaking, and continues to receive critical medical care,” her attorneys said Tuesday.

They also said she remains handcuffed and shackled to her hospital bed despite the serious injuries to her arms. “Despite the severe damage she endured to her arms, she is still handcuffed and shackled to the bed. Her recovery is medically unprecedented. Her prognosis remains unclear but, at a minimum, we expect a long recovery.”

What happened during Pike's execution?

Christa Pike was given two doses of pentobarbital during the execution attempt. Her legal team said at least seven needles were used, with one coming out of her arm bent at a 90-degree angle. She was initially described as unconscious and in critical condition after being taken from Riverbend Maximum Security Institution in Nashville to the hospital last Wednesday.

Her lawyers later said her arms were "swollen, burned and blistered." They believe the IV lines were placed incorrectly or that her veins burst, causing some or all of the drug to enter the tissue in her arms instead of her bloodstream.

In a court filing, Pike's attorneys asked the Tennessee Department of Correction to “protect and preserve any and all evidence” connected to the execution.



They described the department's actions as “incompetent and reckless.”

“Apparently at no point did any member of the execution team realize that the IV lines were not correctly placed or that the veins had blown and that the pentobarbital was, in whole or in part, entering Ms. Pike’s body,” they wrote.

Pike's lawyers have also asked Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee to commute her death sentence. They said she has “endured punishment greater than any other person in the history of the American death penalty.”

The execution has also led to questions about the Tennessee Department of Correction. Pike's lawyers said a resignation was "justified, but it does nothing to help Christa now. What happened to her Wednesday reflects a systemic failure that goes far beyond any one person," according to ABC News.

Slemmer's mother, May Martinez, called the situation a "mess" and said she was left without justice.

Pike was sentenced to death for the January 1995 murder of her 19-year-old classmate, Colleen Slemmer, in a jealous rage.

Dr. Zivot told the Associated Press that Pike's latest condition "bodes well for a good recovery," but cautioned that her long-term health remains uncertain.

"She has recovered to a certain degree that she's able to be off a ventilator and able to speak, but in no way would I announce her free of further serious risk," he said. "There's still a lot of bad things that can happen here."