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US death row inmate Christa Pike conscious after failed execution, lawyers say
Overview
Lawyers for US death row inmate Christa Pike report that she is conscious and speaking in a Nashville hospital following a failed execution attempt involving two lethal injections. Pike, who was convicted of a 1995 murder, survived the attempt, leading Tennessee Governor Bill Lee to suspend all executions for the remainder of the year and prompting the state's head of prisons to plan his resignation.
Key points
- Christa Pike, a 50-year-old US death row inmate, is conscious and speaking after surviving a failed execution attempt.
- She survived two lethal injections last week and was transferred to a hospital in Nashville, Tennessee, for critical medical care.
- Her lawyers describe her recovery as medically unprecedented, noting she is the only known survivor of a completed execution attempt in the US.
- Authorities have not yet provided an explanation for the failed execution or stated whether they will attempt to execute her again.
- Tennessee Governor Bill Lee has suspended all executions for the rest of the year, and the state's head of prisons plans to resign.