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Christa Pike’s lawyer gives major new update on her condition after failed execution and reveals what could happen next
Christa Pike’s lawyers have issued a major update on the health of the 50-year-old following the state of Tennessee’s failed execution on Wednesday.
Pike was administered two doses of the lethal injection during the execution attempt last week, but remained alive, and was consequently rushed to the hospital.
Pike's lawyers provide update on her condition
However, according to a court filing from Pike's legal team, problems with the IV lines meant the pentobarbital was delivered into her body rather than properly entering her bloodstream.
As such, Pike has remained unconscious and dependent on a ventilator while doctors treat her following the failed execution.
Assistant federal defense lawyer Stephen Ferrell, who represents Pike, provided an update during an appearance on CNN's State of the Union.
"It remains the same. She's still in the hospital on a ventilator, critically ill," he admitted.
He also warned that it could be several days before doctors are able to determine what Pike's long-term prospects will be.
"We don't really know the prognosis yet, and may not know for several days."
When asked whether Pike had regained consciousness at any point since the attempted execution, Ferrell responded: "Not that I am aware of."
The lawyer also said Pike's defense team has not been told what Tennessee's authorities intend to do following the botched execution.
"We don't know what the prognosis is, as in the long-term prognosis... she may not fully recover," Ferrell said. "We just don't know any of this. We have had no discussions about this [what happens next]. The Tennessee attorney general's office, so far, has not given us any indications of what their intentions will be."
Ferrell believes Pike's death sentence should now be changed to life imprisonment, arguing that the failed execution has caused her considerable suffering.
"At the very least, the governor should commute Ms Pike's death sentence to a life sentence," he claimed.
"We don't know what her physical state will be, but it's clear that she has endured a tortuous attempt at executing her, and we had already asked that the governor commute her for many good reasons."
Pike's lawyers have also previously described the condition of her arms following the injection, saying they were "swollen, burned, and blistered" after the pentobarbital was administered.
Details about Pike's condition have been limited since Wednesday's attempt. Ferrell said Pike had appointed another person as her medical power of attorney, with that individual helping to safeguard her medical privacy.
A spokeswoman for Pike's defense team said on Sunday: "We appreciate all respect for Christa's rightful privacy."
Pike's brutal murder of Slemmer
Pike was sentenced to death for the 1995 torture and murder of 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer. She committed the crime alongside her boyfriend, Tadaryl Shipp, at a job training facility in Knoxville, Tennessee.
Prosecutors said Pike, who was 18 at the time, believed Slemmer was attempting to take her boyfriend away from her. She subsequently lured Slemmer to a wooded area, where the teenager was killed.
A pentagram was carved into Slemmer's body. The disturbing detail, together with other aspects of the case, contributed to wider fears surrounding alleged Satan worship during America's "satanic panic" of the 1980s and 1990s.
Shipp, who wasn't legally an adult when the murder took place, was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole.
Pike has not disputed her involvement in Slemmer's death. However, her supporters have argued that her sentence should take into consideration her age at the time of the crime, mental illness, and a history of severe sexual abuse, including rape, which began during her childhood.
The failed execution has also prompted scrutiny of Tennessee's prison system. Governor Bill Lee said Frank Strada, commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Correction, will step down this month while an independent review investigates the circumstances surrounding what happened.