Christa Pike is sitting up. Christa Pike, the woman who survived a failed execution involving two doses of pentobarbital on September 30 in Tennessee, is now sitting up and walking in the hospital, according to a member of her legal team.
In statements made late Wednesday to BBC Radio 4, attorney Stephen Ferrell said that although he had not spoken directly with Pike, he had been told she was already moving around her hospital room, although she remained somewhat mentally confused.
Another of Pike's attorneys had revealed the first words she spoke after waking up: «Where am I?» and «Who are you?»
Christa Pike has pneumonia and no function of her arms after a botched execution left her critically injured and temporarily on a ventilator, her attorneys said. Whit Johnson reports. https://t.co/pPcvodBNVq
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Attorney Randy Spivey, who clarified that he was not present when Pike woke up on Tuesday, spoke with reporters outside the Davidson County courthouse in Tennessee on Wednesday after a hearing in the case.
«To everyone's surprise — including mine, her legal team, and the medical team — Christa woke up and started talking,» the attorney explained.
Although he welcomed the news that his client had awakened after several days unconscious following her failed execution on September 30, he warned that «she has a long road to recovery ahead of her.»
Christa Pike has a blood clot in one arm, has developed pneumonia, and is unable to swallow, according to her attorney, who added that it remains unclear whether she will regain use of her arms.
She was sentenced to death in 1996 for the murder of her classmate Colleen Slemmer the previous year and was set to become the first woman executed in Tennessee in more than 200 years.
Tennessee Governor Bill Lee suspended executions for the remainder of 2026 following the case.
Meanwhile, Deputy Attorney General Will Ayers declined on Wednesday to tell the court whether the state would seek a new execution order.
«She deserves answers about what was done to her, and the people of Tennessee also deserve those answers,» Christa Pike's attorney added.
Tennessee has executed 17 inmates since the death penalty was reinstated in the United States in 1976, according to data from the Death Penalty Information Center, an organization that compiles statistics on capital punishment nationwide.
Currently, 42 people are on death row in Tennessee.
