Tennessee death row inmate Christa Pike is awake and speaking at a hospital, her lawyers said Tuesday, six days after a failed lethal injection left her unconscious and on a ventilator.
asserted
injection → speak → ventilator
Pike, 50, survived two doses of pentobarbital during the September 30 execution attempt over the 1995 beating and stabbing death of her classmate Colleen Slemmer.
asserted
Pike → survive → classmate
The lethal injection did not kill her, and her lawyers said her arms were left burned and blistered.
asserted
arms → kill → her
She was subsequently taken to Vanderbilt University Medical Center for treatment, according to news agency AP.
uncertain
She → take → AP
Her attorneys said her prognosis remains unclear and that she faces a long recovery.
“Against all odds, Christa Pike is conscious, speaking, and continues to receive critical medical care,” her lawyers said in a statement.
uncertain
lawyers → say → statement
“Despite the severe damage she endured to her arms, she is still handcuffed and shackled to the bed.
asserted
she → endure → bed
The attorneys also thanked first responders and the hospital medical team for treating Pike and providing care.
asserted
attorneys → thank → care
Doctors say recovery could take months
Pike's latest condition marks the first indication that her health has improved since the failed execution.
uncertain
health → say → execution
As recently as Sunday, her attorneys said she remained unconscious and on a ventilator.
asserted
she → say → ventilator
Dr Joel Zivot, a professor of anaesthesiology and surgery in Atlanta who consulted as an expert for Pike's legal team, said the development “bodes well for a good recovery”.
asserted
development → consult → recovery
However, Zivot said it could take weeks or months to determine the extent of Pike's recovery and whether her competency could be restored to a level that could allow the state to attempt another execution.
uncertain
state → say → execution
“She’s still in the ICU,” he said.
asserted
he → ’ → ICU
“She has recovered to a certain degree that she’s able to be off a ventilator and able to speak, but in no way would I announce her free of further serious risk.
asserted
her → recover → risk
There’s still a lot of bad things that can happen here, even when everyone is doing their job well.”
asserted
everyone → ’ → job
A spokesperson for the Tennessee Department of Correction said the department could provide no information other than that Pike remained hospitalised on Tuesday.
uncertain
Pike → say → Tuesday
Lawyers seek records from failed execution
Pike's attorneys are due in court on Wednesday as they seek information about what happened during the failed lethal injection.
asserted
what → seek → injection
They are asking for a court order requiring the Tennessee Department of Correction to preserve evidence from the September 30 execution attempt, including drug lot numbers, records and other information.
asserted
They → ask → numbers
Chancery Court Judge I’Ashea Myles has scheduled a status conference for Wednesday morning.
asserted
Myles → schedule → morning
Pike's lawyers are also continuing to ask outgoing Tennessee Governor Bill Lee to commute her death sentence to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.
asserted
lawyers → continue → parole
“Christa is a survivor and will take recovery one day at a time,” her attorneys said.
asserted
attorneys → take → time
Lee halted further executions following Pike's hospitalisation and ordered a “comprehensive, third-party review to determine exactly what occurred”.
asserted
what → halt → review
US Senator Marsha Blackburn, the state's Republican candidate to replace Lee, has called on Tennessee to explore other execution methods to ensure it can continue carrying out capital punishment.
asserted
it → replace → punishment
Legal questions over another execution attempt
Pike's survival has raised questions over whether Tennessee could attempt to execute her again, including issues surrounding her competency and constitutional protections.
uncertain
Tennessee → raise → competency
Deborah Denno, a Fordham Law professor who has studied execution methods for 36 years, said Pike has strong arguments that another attempt could constitute cruel and unusual punishment.
uncertain
attempt → study → punishment
She also said a second attempt could raise double-jeopardy concerns.
uncertain
attempt → say → concerns
In previous cases, states have been allowed to make another execution attempt after failing to establish a suitable intravenous line.
asserted
states → allow → line
Denno said Pike's case is different because she survived after the lethal drug had actually been administered.
asserted
drug → say → ?
“They carried out every aspect of the execution,” Denno said.
asserted
Denno → carry → execution
“She didn’t die, but every process they intended, they did it.”
asserted
they → die → it
Seattle University Law Professor Michael Russo, who has handled capital cases as a public defender in Los Angeles, said the failed execution was horrible but questioned whether the US Supreme Court would prevent Tennessee from trying again on double-jeopardy grounds.
“
asserted
Court → handle → grounds
There’s nobody else in the history of the death penalty in this country who has gone through what she’s been through,” Russo said.
asserted
Russo → ’ → what
But he added, “I think what this Supreme Court would say is, her sentence was to die — to be executed — not to suffer an attempt at execution.”
asserted
sentence → add → execution
The Aporia
