Christa Pike breaks silence as death row inmate is released from hospital

Christa Pike has been released from hospital following two failed attempts to execute her using the lethal injection.

Pike, now 50, was due to be executed on September 30 after spending 30 years on death row for a murder she committed as a teenager.

However, officials struggled to place an IV line in her arm ahead of the execution, with witnesses claiming at least seven needles had been used, one of which allegedly came out of her arm bent.

Pike remained alive after the second dose of pentobarbital was administered, with witnesses saying she was heard snoring before she was rushed to hospital.

Christa Pike has been released from hospital after surviving two lethal injection attempts. Credit: Tennessee Department of Corrections

She remained unconscious for several days after the botched execution attempt, before coming round.

Pike was able to speak and even stand up in the days following, and has now been discharged from hospital.

Her legal team confirmed she had been returned to Tennessee's Deborah K. Johnson Rehabilitation Centre, the prison where she has spent over 30 years on death row.

The statement, shared by Stephen Ferrell and Luke Ihnen from Federal Defender Services of Eastern Tennessee, and Randy Spivey and Kelly Gleason from the TN Office of the Post Conviction Defender, said: "Christa Pike was discharged from a local hospital and is now at Deborah K. Johnson Rehabilitation Centre, where she has been housed for more than 30 years.

"She is grateful to the first responders and her medical team for their care in these extraordinary circumstances.

"She is continuing to receive medical care at the prison, and we will continue to track her recovery."

This is a breaking news story, more details to follow...

Featured image credit: Tennessee Department of Corrections