Christa Pike discharged from hospital as lawyers give update on her condition and where she is now

Christa Pike has been discharged from hospital and returned to the prison she has lived in for more than 30 years, following her survival of a failed execution attempt in Tennessee.

Her attorneys, Stephen Ferrell and Luke Ihnen of Federal Defender Services of Eastern Tennessee, and Randy Spivey and Kelly Gleason of the Tennessee Office of the Post Conviction Defender, confirmed she is now at Debra K. Johnson Rehabilitation Center.

“She is grateful to the first responders and her medical team for their care in these extraordinary circumstances,” the lawyers said in a statement.

“She is continuing to receive medical care at the prison, and we will continue to track her recovery.”

The 50-year-old survived two injections of pentobarbital on September 30 and was taken to hospital in a critical condition, the BBC reports.

She was sentenced to death for murdering Colleen Slemmer with her then-boyfriend in 1995.

Christa Pike, 50, survived two injections of pentobarbital on September 30 and was taken to hospital in a critical condition. (TDOC)

How is Christa Pike's health after the failed execution?

Her lawyers earlier described her recovery as ‘remarkable,’ saying she could walk with assistance and was eating. She had also regained some movement in her arms, which were badly injured during the attempt.

'Physicians are encouraged by her physical recovery,' the statement added.

The legal team also addressed the mental fallout.

“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.

They said they do not know the full emotional and psychological toll or how long recovery will take, but that Pike ‘continues to express concern for others, particularly the family of her victim Colleen Slemmer.’

Governor Bill Lee has ordered a pause on all executions for the rest of the year and said he wants answers about what went wrong. (TDOC)

What happens next for Christa Pike?

The case is now in uncharted territory, as Pike is believed to be the only person to have survived an execution attempt by lethal injection. Governor Bill Lee has ordered a pause on all executions for the rest of the year and said he wants answers about what went wrong.

Pike’s lawyers have called on him to downgrade her punishment to life in prison without parole, while proponents of capital punishment have suggested using a different method to put her to death.

A court has also ordered officials to preserve all evidence linked to the failed execution, which could lay the groundwork for a future lawsuit against the state. Judge I’Ashea Myles said “anything that was in the actual room needs to be preserved and maintained,” including IV lines, syringes and waste such as packaging, inserts and labels.

She also demanded documentation on Pike’s psychological condition before, during and after the attempt, and advised the state to take ‘special care’ not to misplace or accidentally delete pertinent information.

UNILAD has contacted the Tennessee Department of Correction for comment.