Source : Perth Now news
Christa Pike’s legal team have revealed the convicted murderer remains critically ill in hospital following a botched execution attempt in Tennessee on September 30.
The 50-year-old requires a ventilator to keep her alive and “may not fully recover” according to lawyer Stephen Ferrell.
“We don’t really know the prognosis yet and may not know for several days,” Mr Ferrell told CNN.
“It remains to be seen what the future is.”
Mr Ferrell said he had not personally seen Pike since the attempt at ending her life as her hospital room is heavily guarded.
However, medical reports explain the use of seven needles during the execution attempt which left her arm “swollen, burned and blistered.”
The drug pentobarbital was administered intravenously to Pike in numerous doses as a supposed lethal injection.
Pentobarbital is a barbiturate used to slow the central nervous system, suppressing breathing and executive function of the heart.
However, Pike continued breathing throughout the administration of the injections, including being conscious enough to tell prison guards, “my arm feels like it’s about to burst open,” before asking “does this happen like that?”
Witnesses to the attempted execution report she then fell asleep and began “snoring loudly” before Pike’s legal team were granted an emergency motion to cease any further attempts at ending her life.
“I think one of the main things that will leave this up in the air for a while is the fact that we don’t know what the prognosis is, as in, the long-term prognosis. If she recovers, she may not fully recover,” Mr Ferrell said.
“And there may be issues about her competence. We just don’t know any of this.”
It is understood Pike is likely to have suffered brain damage due to effects of the unsuccessful administration of pentobarbital she received.
Tennessee Governor Bill Lee has ordered an independent review into the botched execution and called off all executions for the remainder of 2026.
