Christa Pike has pneumonia and no function in her arms after failed execution, lawyer says

Key Points:

• Christa Pike, who survived a failed lethal injection execution in Tennessee, has awakened after six days on life support but faces serious medical challenges including pneumonia, a blood clot, and paralysis in her arms, according to her lawyer Randy Spivey.
• Pike, 50, became the first person in the U.S. to survive two doses of lethal injection after the state’s attempt to execute her for a 1995 murder, with doctors suggesting the drug mostly entered her arm rather than her bloodstream.
• A Tennessee court ruled that the state must preserve all evidence related to the botched execution, including medical supplies, drug records, and video footage, to ensure Pike’s constitutional rights are protected and to allow for future legal challenges.
• Pike’s legal team has requested improved access to her in the hospital, including advance notice before any moves, removal of shackles, and regular visits, citing difficulties they faced when trying to see her after she regained consciousness.
• Tennessee Governor Bill Lee has paused all executions in the state for the rest of the year and ordered an independent review of the incident, while the state’s top prison official resigned amid the fallout from the failed execution attempt.