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On Wednesday of last week, Christa Pike was set to be executed.
She would have become the first woman put to death by the state of Tennessee in over 200 years.
Instead, Pike survived the execution and is now fighting for her life.
And her attorney says she may never fully recover from the botched attempt.
Pike remains unconscious and on a ventilator several days after Tennessee attempted to execute her by lethal injection.
Her attorney, Stephen Ferrell, provided the troubling update Sunday while appearing on CNN’s State of the Union.
“We don’t really know the prognosis yet and may not know for several days,” Ferrell said.
Asked whether Pike has regained consciousness since the September 30 execution attempt, Ferrell responded, “Not that I am aware.”
And the uncertainty doesn’t end there.
“I think one of the main things that will leave this up in the air for a while is the fact that we don’t know what the prognosis is,” Ferrell explained. “If she recovers — she may not fully recover. And there may be issues about her competence. We just don’t know any of this.”
That’s a particularly significant issue given that Pike could potentially face another execution attempt if her death sentence remains intact.
Pike’s legal team is instead asking Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee to commute her sentence to life in prison.
“She has already endured a torturous attempt at executing her,” Ferrell said.
The execution attempt reportedly involved two doses of pentobarbital after officials struggled to establish an IV.
Pike’s attorneys have said seven needles were used and that both of her arms were swollen, burned and blistered when she arrived at the hospital. They also said Pike could be heard crying and expressing pain during the procedure.
Tennessee has since halted executions for the remainder of the year while an independent investigation into what happened is conducted. The state’s corrections commissioner, Frank Strada, has also resigned.
Pike was sentenced to death for the 1995 murder of 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer. She has spent decades on death row and was scheduled to become the first woman executed by Tennessee in more than 200 years.
Now, however, the biggest question may not be when Tennessee will attempt to execute Pike again.
It’s whether she will ever be healthy enough for that question to matter.
We will have further updates on this developing story as new information becomes available.
Christa Pike Still Unconscious, May Never Recover From Botched Execution, Lawyer Claims was originally published on The Hollywood Gossip.
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