Christa Pike Wakes After Failed Tennessee Execution Attempt

Christa Pike awoke and began speaking in a Nashville hospital after surviving Tennessee’s September 30 lethal-injection attempt, her lawyer said Wednesday. Her attorneys had been told that life support might be withdrawn, but Randy Spivey said Pike woke on Tuesday and appeared angry and confused, without seeming to remember the execution attempt. Spivey described Pike’s condition as severe after he saw her in the hospital. He said her hands and arms were swollen, she had difficulty moving and swallowing, and she had a blood clot in one arm and pneumonia. The medical details and Pike’s reactions have been reported through her lawyer; no treating clinician’s assessment or prognosis was provided. Pike was scheduled to be executed by lethal injection on September 30. According to Spivey, she remained alive after receiving two doses of pentobarbital. Her lawyers have described attempts to place intravenous lines and said she experienced pain during the procedure. The available accounts do not establish why the injection failed or specify the full medical consequences. A Nashville judge ordered Tennessee to preserve evidence and records related to the attempt.