Christa Pike, a Tennessee death row inmate, is awake and communicating after surviving two doses of a lethal-injection drug during a botched execution, her attorneys said Tuesday.
Pike remains hospitalized with serious injuries to her arms after Tennessee attempted to execute her last Wednesday, The Associated Press reported.
Her lawyers said doctors have not yet determined her prognosis and warned that her recovery is likely to be lengthy.
An execution gurney is shown next to a Tennessee Department of Correction booking photo of death row inmate Christa Pike. (Greg Smith/CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images; Tennessee Department of Correction via AP)
“Her recovery is medically unprecedented,” Pike’s attorneys said, noting that she remains handcuffed and shackled to her hospital bed.
The statement marked the first reported sign of improvement since Pike was transported by ambulance from a Nashville prison, according to the AP.
She remained alive after receiving two doses of pentobarbital during the failed execution.
