Christa Pike makes ‘remarkable’ recovery from 'death' after failed US botched execution

Christa Pike, the Tennessee death row inmate who survived a botched lethal injection attempt last week, has made a “profound” recovery and can now walk with assistance and eat, her lawyers said on Thursday.Pike, 50, was left in critical condition after two injections of the execution drug pentobarbital failed to kill her on September 30. Her lawyers said she had also regained some movement in her arms, which were badly injured during the attempted execution.“Physicians are encouraged by her physical recovery,” her legal team said in a statement, describing her progress as “remarkable”, BBC reported.However, Pike continues to struggle with the psychological trauma of surviving the failed execution, her lawyers said.“Christa is dealing with the profound psychological trauma of having survived a failed execution, including the terror, pain and uncertainty of believing she was about to die,” they said.Emotional and psychological impact unclearHer legal team added that the full emotional and psychological impact of the incident remained unclear and that it was uncertain how long her recovery would take. Despite the ordeal, Pike continued to express concern for others, particularly the family of her victim, Colleen Slemmer, they said.Pike was sentenced to death for the 1995 murder of Slemmer, a 19-year-old schoolmate whom she and her then-boyfriend, Tadaryl Shipp, beat, tortured and killed after meeting her at a job training camp for low-income young people.Pike was 18 at the time of the killing, while Shipp was 17. He was spared the death penalty because he was not legally an adult when the crime was committed and remains in prison.Slemmer’s mother, who had supported Pike’s execution, described the failed attempt as a “mess”.Court orders preservation of evidenceThe failed execution has raised questions about what went wrong and whether Tennessee could attempt to execute Pike again.On Wednesday, Judge I’Ashea Myles ordered officials to preserve all evidence related to the botched procedure, potentially laying the groundwork for a future lawsuit against the state.Meanwhile, some proponents of capital punishment have suggested using a different execution method.You use AI every day. Now get your AI Quotient. Take the AIQ test.