Christa Pike still on a ventilator 4 days after failed execution, lawyer says
TN Lawmaker on Christa Pike Botched Execution
Tennessee State Rep. Jodey Barrett joined Ryan Schmelz on LiveNOW from FOX to discuss the botched execution of Christa Pike and the decision by the state's top prison chief to resign. Barrett discussed changes he'd like to see to how the state carries out executions.
Christa Pike has not regained consciousness in the four days since her failed execution in Tennessee, one of her attorneys said Sunday.
The update comes a day after the state’s prison chief announced his resignation as investigators try to determine what led to the "deeply disturbing" attempt at carrying out Pike’s death sentence.
What is Christa Pike’s condition?
What we know:
Pike has remained hospitalized under guard since Wednesday night, as doctors try to get the massive dose of the lethal barbiturate pentobarbital out of her system.
Christa Pike (Photo: TN Department of Correction)
What we don't know:
Attorneys said they may not know for several more days whether or not Pike can recover.
What they're saying:
Pike’s lawyer, Assistant Federal Defender Stephen Ferrell, appeared on CNN’s "State of the Union" Sunday morning and said he does not believe Pike has ever regained consciousness since the botched execution attempt.
RELATED: Christa Pike latest: Tennessee prisons chief resigns after failed execution
"We don’t know right now, and we may never know what sort of torture she endured during that process, where her consciousness was, what physical pain there was — what mental torture she went through," Ferrell said.
Pike gave someone her medical power of attorney and that person is protecting her privacy, Ferrell said.
"I’m not sure what all they may have told that person," Ferrell said.
Pike’s attorneys have not identified who is making Pike’s medical decisions.
Who is Christa Pike?
The backstory:
Pike was 18 years old when she and her boyfriend tortured and killed a classmate, Colleen Slemmer, in a jealous rage in 1995. Before her failed execution Wednesday, she was set to be the first woman executed in Tennessee in 200 years.
A federal appeals court briefly paused the execution Wednesday and said more time was needed to consider her lawyers’ last-ditch appeals, but the Supreme Court allowed the execution to proceed after a nine-hour delay.
The state’s Republican governor declined to intervene and allow Pike to serve a life sentence.
Pike’s ‘deeply disturbing’ failed execution
After the state administered two doses of pentobarbital, witnesses said 50-year-old Pike was still alive and snoring.
Pike was taken to a hospital, where she has been unconscious ever since, her lawyers said.
Christa Pike's attorneys speak after botched execution
Attorney's for Christa Pike, the death row inmate who survived the state of Tennessee's first attempt to execute a woman in more than 200 years, spoke to reporters to provide an update on her health and discuss what possible outcomes remain for their client.
Pike’s attorneys said they believe problems with the IV lines caused the pentobarbital to flow into her body instead of her bloodstream.
"Apparently at no point did any member of the execution team realize that the IV lines were not correctly placed or that the veins had blown and that the pentobarbital was, in whole or in part, entering Ms. Pike’s body," they wrote in court documents.
Prisons chief resigns
Big picture view:
The stunning failure has left both sides of the death penalty debate demanding answers. Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee called it "deeply disturbing" and called for an independent investigation.
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On Saturday, Lee announced that Frank Strada, commissioner of the Department of Corrections, will resign this month.
Christa Pike case: Tennessee prisons chief resigns
The head of Tennessee's prison system will resign later this month after this week's failed execution of Christa Pike, the only woman on the state's death row, according to Governor Bill Lee. Frank Strada, the commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Correction said in a statement, in part, his resignation is "in the best interest of Tennesseans" while an independent review determines what happened. Michael Benz at Case Western Reserve University joined LiveNOW's Josh Breslow to discuss what happens next.
In a statement to The Associated Press, Strada said his resignation is "in the best interest of Tennesseans" while the independent investigation moves forward.
Dig deeper:
This was the second time this year Tennessee has not been able to execute a prisoner who was seemingly moments away from death. In May, Tennessee stopped the execution of Tony Carruthers after staff placed an IV into his right arm but couldn’t get a secondary IV line.
What's next for Pike's death penalty case?
What's next:
If Pike recovers, it is unclear what will happen in her death penalty case. Pike’s lawyers have asked the governor to commute her punishment to a life sentence.
The Source: This article includes information from The Associated Press and previous FOX Local reporting.