Christa Pike was supposed to die by lethal injection in Tennessee last Wednesday.
Instead, four days after the execution attempt, the 50-year-old remains unconscious, critically ill, and dependent on a ventilator in a heavily guarded hospital room.
Doctors are still treating the effects of two doses of pentobarbital administered during the attempted execution, while her attorneys say no one yet knows whether Pike will fully recover.
What was intended to be a controlled lethal injection instead turned into an unprecedented medical emergency that has raised serious questions about what happened inside Tennessee’s execution chamber—and what happens next.
According to a court filing from Pike’s legal team, problems developed with the intravenous lines used to deliver the lethal drug.
Her attorneys contend that much of the pentobarbital did not properly enter her bloodstream. Instead, they believe the medication leaked into surrounding tissue, contributing to severe injuries to her arms while failing to deliver a fatal dose into her circulation.
Assistant federal defender Stephen Ferrell gave an update on Pike’s condition during an appearance on CNN’s *State of the Union*.
“It remains the same. She’s still in the hospital on a ventilator, critically ill.” Continue Reading ⬇️