United States death row inmate, Christa Pike, has regained consciousness and is speaking after surviving a failed execution attempt in Tennessee, her lawyers have said.
Pike, 50, remains under critical medical care in hospital, where she is being treated while handcuffed, according to a statement from her legal team on Tuesday.
She was sentenced to death for the 1995 murder of 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer.
Pike survived two attempts to administer a lethal injection last Wednesday before she was taken to hospital, where she remained unconscious for several days as doctors worked to clear the injected drug from her body.
Her lawyers described her recovery as “medically unprecedented”, adding that although her prognosis remained uncertain, “at a minimum, we expect a long recovery”.
Deborah Denno, a criminologist and professor at Fordham Law School, said she was “absolutely astonished” that Pike had regained consciousness and was able to speak.
Denno said Pike was believed to be the only person to survive a lethal injection after the execution process succeeded in delivering a toxic substance.
“They did everything they were supposed to do as part of the execution process, and it simply didn’t work,” she said. “This has never happened before.”
Pike’s defence team said she had suffered “severe damage” to her arms during the failed execution.
Her attorneys had previously warned that her medical history, including a blood-clotting condition and small veins, increased the risk of pain and suffering during the procedure.
Dr Joel Zivot, an anaesthesiologist advising Pike’s defence team, said recovering from a lethal injection was highly unlikely.
“Most people who get lethal injection die from it,” he told the BBC.
“In fact, pretty well everyone, except Christa. So, the fact that she survived it … was unusual.”
Zivot said there were still significant uncertainties surrounding Pike’s condition, including how much of the pentobarbital entered her bloodstream and the extent of any possible neurological damage.
Authorities have yet to announce whether another attempt will be made to execute Pike.
Tennessee Governor, Bill Lee has suspended executions in the state for the rest of the year, while the state’s prisons chief has announced plans to resign.
Pike was 18 when she and her then-boyfriend, Tadaryl Shipp, attacked and killed Slemmer, whom they had met at a job training camp for troubled teenagers.
Pike’s lawyers are expected in court in Nashville on Wednesday and will hold a news conference outside the court.
