NASHVILLE, Tenn. (Diya TV) — Christa Pike has begun walking with assistance and eating again after surviving Tennessee’s Sept. 30 execution attempt, her attorneys said Thursday.
Pike remains hospitalized with painful burns on her arms and difficulties with concentration and memory. Her lawyers said doctors may need months to determine whether she sustained lasting cognitive injuries.
Tennessee attempted to execute Pike with two doses of pentobarbital for the 1995 murder of her classmate, Colleen Slemmer. Pike, the only woman on the state’s death row, survived and initially required a ventilator.
She regained consciousness Tuesday. By Thursday, she could walk around her hospital room with help, eat a regular diet and move her arms more freely, her legal team said.
Attorney Stephen Ferrell said tissue damage around the injection sites continued to cause pain and made tasks such as holding a pen difficult. Her lawyers also reported significant psychological trauma following the procedure.
Investigators have not established why the execution failed. Medical experts have questioned whether improperly placed intravenous lines allowed the drug to enter surrounding tissue rather than her bloodstream. Pike’s attorneys raised that possibility in a court filing; state officials have not publicly confirmed it.
A Davidson County judge ordered the Tennessee Department of Correction on Wednesday to preserve evidence related to the execution attempt.
Gov. Bill Lee postponed the state’s remaining scheduled execution this year and appointed former U.S. Attorney Ed Stanton to conduct an independent review. Correction Commissioner Frank Strada also announced his resignation.
The department has confirmed Pike remains hospitalized but declined to disclose medical details, citing federal privacy protections.
Her attorneys are asking Lee to commute her sentence to life imprisonment without parole. Tennessee has not announced another execution date.
