WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Tennessee death row inmate Christa Pike, who survived a botched execution attempt last month, is 'conscious and speaking,' according to her attorneys.
'Against all odds, Christa Pike is conscious, speaking and continues to receive critical medical care. Despite the severe damage she endured to her arms, she is still handcuffed and shackled to the bed. Her recovery is medically unprecedented. Her prognosis remains unclear but, at a minimum, we expect a long recovery,' Pike's lawyers said in a statement Tuesday.
'She is the only person known to have survived a complete execution attempt in the US. Christa is a survivor and will take recovery one day at a time,' they added.
They repeated their call on Tennessee Governor Bill Lee to commute Pike's sentence to life imprisonment 'without the possibility of parole.'
After an attempt to execute Christa Pike by two lethal injections failed on September 30, Governor Lee halted the remaining executions in the state for the rest of the year.
Lee said he has ordered for a 'comprehensive, third-party review to determine exactly what occurred' during Christa Pike's attempted execution.
Christa Gail Pike was convicted in 1996 for murdering her 19-year-old Job Corps classmate Colleen Slemmer in Knoxville. At the age of 20, Pike was sentenced to death, making her one of the youngest women to be sentenced to death in the United States during the post-Furman period.
Pike's attempted execution took place at Riverbend Maximum Security Institution in Nashville Wednesday night.
In a dramatic day of developments, Pike was denied clemency and, one hour before her execution, a court halted it, then lifted the stay.
After two syringes of the lethal drugs were injected on Wednesday, Pike's legal team filed an emergency motion with the Tennessee Supreme Court. Pike's lawyer, Kelly Gleason, stated that while Pike is 'alive and snoring,' she needs immediate medical care.
Pike did not lose consciousness and maintained a heartbeat during the attempted execution and the procedure was declared botched. She was taken away from the prison in an ambulance.
Pike is in critical condition and receiving life-saving medical care, her legal team said a day after the botched execution.
In their latest statement, Pike's lawyers expressed gratitude to the first responders and the medical team at the hospital, saying they 'treated Christa like a human and have provided exceptional care to her.'
Pike's lawyers will reportedly appear in court in Nashville on Wednesday, after which they will address the media.
This was the second failed execution of the year in Tennessee. In May, after the doctor failed to find a vein to administer a lethal drug for the execution of convicted murderer Tony Carruthers, his capital punishment was later granted a one-year reprieve.
Calls are growing for U.S. authorities to commute the death sentence of Christa Pike.
The UN human rights chief and nine independent rights experts called on authorities in Tennessee not to pursue any further attempts to execute Christa Pike, saying her case highlights multiple concerns surrounding the death penalty.
The Commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Correction Frank Strada was forced to announce his resignation in the wake of the controversy triggered by the failed execution attempt.
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