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Us authorities are seeking answers after the botched execution of homicide convict Christa Pike on September 30, which resulted in her hospitalization in critical condition.
Pike, 50, survived two rounds of lethal injection drugs. Authorities transported Pike by ambulance to a hospital, according to her attorneys.
“We don’t have much information about her prognosis, but we do know that she is alive and receiving lifesaving medical care,” stated Randy Spivey, one of Pike’s attorneys, on October 1.
As of late on October 1, her condition remained unchanged. USA TODAY reached out to Pike’s legal team on October 2 for any updates regarding her status.
Tennessee officials have been largely silent about Pike’s health condition and how the lethal injection may have failed. The Department of Correction stated that it followed all protocols.
The failed execution prompted Tennessee Governor Bill Lee to call for an independent investigation and to pause executions in the state for the remainder of the year. He described what transpired in Pike’s death chamber as “disturbing” and a “tragedy.”
President Donald Trump also commented on the situation. “How does that happen?” he said on October 1. “It shouldn’t be very difficult.”
Christa Pike was set to be executed for the 1995 homicide of 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer. At the time of the crime, Pike was 18 years old and, along with her boyfriend, brutally tortured and killed Slemmer. The execution attempt took place after a chaotic day of last-minute legal battles that reached the U.S. Supreme Court.
According to the nonprofit Death Penalty Information Center, Pike appears to be the first person known to have survived after execution drugs were administered.