Christa Pike May Never Fully Recover After Botched Execution, Attorney Says 

Christa Pike may not fully recover from the effects of the botched execution that left her critically ill and on a ventilator, according to her attorney.

Pike, a Tennessee death row inmate, remains hospitalized days after officials halted her execution when the lethal-injection procedure failed to kill her as scheduled.

Her lawyer, Stephen Ferrell, said Pike’s condition remains unchanged and that her medical prognosis is still unclear.

Speaking to CNN on October 4, Ferrell said Pike was still in critical condition.

“It remains the same. She’s still in the hospital on a ventilator, critically ill,” he said.

Ferrell said Pike’s legal team may have to wait several days before doctors can provide a clearer picture of her condition and potential recovery.

“We really don’t know the prognosis yet and may not know for several days,” he said.

Asked whether doctors had explained how Pike survived after being administered the lethal-injection drugs, Ferrell said they had not.

“They haven’t,” he said.

The attorney stressed, however, that he and Pike’s legal team are not communicating directly with the doctors treating her.

“I need to emphasize that we are not consulting directly with the doctors,” Ferrell said.

Christa Pike may not make a full recovery

Ferrell said information about Pike’s medical condition is being relayed through a person who holds her medical power of attorney.

“She has a medical power of attorney that gives us information,” he explained.

The lawyer said he did not know everything doctors may have told that person, leaving the legal team without a complete assessment of Pike’s condition.

“I’m not sure what all they may have told that person, but this is the extent of what we know,” Ferrell said.

He added that even if Pike survives her current condition, there is no guarantee she will make a complete recovery.

“We don’t know what the prognosis is. If she recovers, she may not fully recover,” Ferrell said.

Lawyer has not been allowed to see Pike

Ferrell also revealed that he has not been allowed to visit Pike in hospital.

“No, they haven’t let me in to see her and she is guarded,” he said.

He said he did not know who else may have been permitted to see Pike but confirmed that he had not personally seen his client.

“I know for sure, I have not seen her,” Ferrell said.

Pike’s condition follows the unprecedented failure of her October 1 execution in Tennessee.

Officials had scheduled the lethal injection after Pike spent decades on death row for the 1995 murder of 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer.

During the execution attempt, state officials administered the lethal-injection drugs, but Pike did not die as scheduled. The procedure was eventually halted, and she was taken to the hospital.

The failed execution has since prompted questions about what happened during the procedure and why Pike survived the drugs.

As Pike remains hospitalized and critically ill, her attorney says the full extent of the damage and whether she can recover may not become clear for several days.