Death row prisoner alive and speaking after botched execution

On September 30, Christa Pike, convicted of murdering classmate Colleen Slemmer in 1996, survived an attempted lethal injection execution in Tennessee when she was left unconscious but alive after receiving two doses of pentobarbital. A week later, a judge ordered the state to preserve all evidence related to the botched attempt, including drugs, IV lines, and medical waste, to ensure Pike's constitutional rights are protected for any future legal challenges. The judge also granted Pike’s attorneys "liberal access" to their client. Currently hospitalized with pneumonia, blood clots, and unable to move both arms, Pike is confused and angry about her situation after waking up on Tuesday, asking who she was and where she was. Her lawyers argue that a second attempt would violate the 8th Amendment's prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment.