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On Wednesday, Christa Pike was set to be executed in Tennessee — the first female put to death by the state in more than 200 years.
Instead, the convicted murderer is currently coalescing in an area hospital, having survived two phenobarbital injections that were administered with the purpose of ending her life.
Pike remained conscious after the first shot, even expressing concern to nearby medical staff and complaining of pain.
And though the second shot caused her to lose consciousness, witnesses say she continued to breathe and could be heard “snoring.”
Pike was then rushed from Riverbend Maximum Security Institution to a local hospital, where she is currently undergoing treatment.
Now, her attorneys have issued a statement about Pike’s condition as they seek to have her sentence overturned.
“Christa is critically ill but not in a coma as I understand it,” one member of the legal team tells TMZ.
The attorney went on to explain that Pike is unable to communicate at this time.
He added that Pike’s warrant for execution expired at midnight, meaning the Tennessee Supreme Court would have to set a new date before they can try to execute her again.
Tennessee governor Bill Lee has already ordered that all remaining executions on the state’s schedule be paused indefinitely so that the authorities can ensure that there are no further debacles like Christa’s.
Now, Pike’s legal team is calling upon state prosecutors to commute her sentence following the nightmare situation that unfolded last night.
“Christa has endured punishment greater than any other person in the history of the American death penalty. The governor must commute Krista’s sentence now,” Attorney Randy Spivey told Tennessee’s WVLT.
“Tennessee should not be torturing its citizens in the name of justice,” echoed Steve Farrell of the Federal Defender Services of Eastern Tennessee. “We, along with Randy, call for the commutation of her death sentence after what she’s been put through.”
Farrell went on to allege that the state’s treatment of Pike was akin to torture.
Shockingly, Pike’s botched execution was not entirely unexpected.
Both the death row inmate and her attorneys predicted that her rare venous condition might result in complications.
“We presented evidence that due to her blood condition, venous access would be difficult, and that this type of prolonged execution that she didn’t want to happen would happen,” Farrell said today. “When we had our hearing this summer. All of this was predicted, and nothing, the court did nothing.”
We will have further updates on this shocking developing story as new information becomes available.
