After botched US execution, Christa Pike walking, mentally 'foggy' - lawyer
Christa Pike, a death row inmate in Tennessee, is recovering after a botched execution attempt left her in a 'foggy' mental state. Her lawyers are calling for a commutation of her sentence as the state investigates the failed procedure.
Why it matters
The case has reignited the national debate over the ethics and efficacy of the death penalty and the use of lethal injection protocols.
The convicted US killer who survived a botched execution was walking around her hospital room though she was mentally "foggy," her lawyer said in an interview broadcast Thursday.
Christa Pike, 50, had been considered brain dead following two lethal doses of the drug pentobarbital last Wednesday that failed to kill her.
Doctors had been planning to remove life support on Tuesday when she unexpectedly woke up and started talking, her lawyers have said.
"She is up and walking for the first time today, but just around the room, you know, not very far," lawyer Stephen Ferrell told the BBC.
"She's also somewhat foggy. She can lose her train of thought really easily and forgets where she's going."
"There could be some permanent damage. We don't know that yet," said Ferrell, who has not personally seen Pike or spoken with her, but is getting updates from colleagues who have.
Also covering this story
17 other newsrooms covered this event. We read each version separately.
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