‘Angry and confused’: Tennessee death row inmate Christa Pike wakes up after surviving execution attempt

US death-row inmate Christa Pike woke up “angry and confused” in a Tennessee hospital days after surviving a botched lethal injection, her lawyer said on Wednesday.Pike’s first words after regaining consciousness were “Where am I?” and “Who are you?”on Tuesday in what her lawyer described as a “shock to everyone”. Her legal team had believed for days that she was brain dead and expected doctors to withdraw life support.Pike is believed to be the only person to survive an execution attempt by lethal injection.She remembers only limited details of the September 30 execution attempt, during which she was administered two rounds of the drug pentobarbital.“We don't know the toll all of this will take” on her mental health, Spivey said, describing her as “angry and confused” after the ordeal.Judge orders evidence from execution preservedA Tennessee judge on Wednesday ordered the state to preserve all evidence connected to the failed execution after Pike’s lawyers sought an emergency order.The order covers items from the execution room, including IV lines and syringes, as well as packaging, inserts and labels. The judge also ordered the preservation of documentation concerning Pike’s psychological condition before, during and after the execution.Pike’s lawyer Luke Ihnen told the court that communication with his client had been difficult because she had remained unconscious until Tuesday and was now only “speaking limitedly”.The legal team said the preserved evidence could form the basis of a future lawsuit against the state.Could Tennessee try to execute Pike again?Tennessee could attempt to execute Pike again, but any effort to use lethal injection is likely to face significant legal challenges, according to Tennessee-based defence attorney Stephen Ross Johnson, BBC reported.“For the state to attempt to execute her again using the same methodology, they would have severe legal hurdles,” Johnson said.Johnson said Pike’s medical condition, combined with the failed execution, could make it difficult for the state to justify another attempt using lethal injection.Tennessee could also seek to execute Pike using a different method, although that would involve additional legal hurdles and potentially require approval from the governor’s office and state legislature.You use AI every day. Now get your AI Quotient. Take the AIQ test.