Despite the terrible consequences of the failed execution, Christa Pike regained consciousness in hospital, albeit very confused and “angry”. This was confirmed by her lawyer Randy Spivey, who provided the US media with some updates on the condition of the woman, sentenced to death for a murder committed in 1995: “On Monday Pike was considered brain dead. But on Tuesday she woke up and started talking.”
The first words
“Where am I and who are you?”: according to the lawyer, these were the first words spoken by the woman. Spivey would not reveal what the woman remembers of the execution, but assured that “she is perfectly aware that the state tried to execute her.” “Right now she is angry – he added – and very confused about everything.”
The woman will now have to face a long recovery journey: she has a blood clot in one arm, pneumonia, as well as enormously swollen hands and arms. At the moment he is unable to move his upper limbs and it is not yet clear whether he will be able to recover their functionality. Furthermore, as explained by the lawyer, she is unable to feed herself: “She is unable to swallow and has not eaten. She speaks, but with difficulty. Despite her confused state, she tried to communicate with those around her. She wanted to know what had happened and asked for several people.”
The execution failed
Pike survived two pentobarbital injections on September 30 and was transported to a Nashville-area hospital. After the botched execution, the woman remained intubated, on a ventilator and unconscious for days, until she unexpectedly woke up on Tuesday.
It is currently unclear what went wrong during the procedure, but according to the Death Penalty Information Center organization, this is the first case of a person surviving after being injected with drugs used for capital punishment. According to his lawyers, the IVs used for Pike may have been placed incorrectly, thus preventing the pentobarbital from properly entering the bloodstream.