Christa Pike is walking with help and eating after failed execution attempt
Christa Pike is recovering in a hospital after surviving a botched lethal injection attempt in Tennessee. Her attorneys report that she is regaining mobility and speech, while raising concerns about the psychological trauma and the state's future legal actions.
Why it matters
The case has reignited national debate regarding the ethics and efficacy of capital punishment protocols in the United States.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Christa Pike has begun walking and eating again at a hospital a week after surviving Tennessee's attempt to execute her with lethal drugs, her attorneys said Thursday.
National Judge orders that Christa Pike execution evidence be preserved Pike, 50, survived two doses of pentobarbital as the state sought to giver her a lethal injection eight days ago for the 1995 beating and stabbing death of classmate Colleen Slemmer. The drug didn't kill her, and her arms were left burned and blistered, according to her lawyers. For the first few days of her hospitalization, Pike was unconscious and on a ventilator.
Her first steps on Wednesday were "limited" and she required some assistance as she walked on Thursday, her lawyers said in a statement. She is also regaining mobility in her arms, and she was able to eat for the first time.
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