Christa Pike returns to Nashville prison after surviving execution attempt

Condemned inmate Christa Pike has returned to a Nashville prison following a hospital stay, her attorneys said Saturday. The transfer follows an unexpected recovery that disrupted the state death penalty process. The Tennessee Department of Correction has not said what went wrong during the procedure.

Pike, 50, was discharged from the hospital. She is back at the Debra K. Johnson Rehabilitation Center. She lived at the women’s facility for 30 years, her lawyers stated.

“She is grateful to the first responders and her medical team for their care in these extraordinary circumstances. She is continuing to receive medical care at the prison, and we will continue to track her recovery,” the statement said.

Pike survived two doses of pentobarbital on Sept. 30. The state attempted to execute her for the 1995 beating and stabbing death of classmate Colleen Slemmer.

She was on a ventilator at one point. Her attorneys did not expect her to survive. Pike woke up and began talking and walking with assistance, her lawyers stated.

She is the first person to survive after receiving lethal injection drugs, according to the Death Penalty Information Center.

Medical and lethal injection experts focused on IV line placement. The line could have caused the drug to pool in tissue instead of her bloodstream. Her attorneys filed a court document about the line.

“apparently at no point did any member of the execution team realize that the IV lines were not correctly placed.”

The event brought new scrutiny to death sentences in Tennessee. Gov. Bill Lee postponed the only other scheduled execution this year. Lee ordered a formal review of what went wrong. The state prison chief resigned.

Pike spoke of being at peace when asked for a final statement. Five minutes later, she raised her head. She said her arm hurt. She appeared to lose consciousness.

Media witnesses heard heavy breathing. Officers escorted them from the room nearly 90 minutes into the execution. An ambulance took her to a hospital.

Corrections departments operate state prisons and oversee the care of inmates. Medical staff monitor individuals during recovery after critical hospital stays.

Pike now continues her recovery inside the Nashville facility under prison medical supervision.