Christa Pike, death row inmate who survived lethal injection, begins walking and eating

Christa Pike, a 50-year-old Tennessee death row inmate who survived a failed lethal injection attempt on September 30, has begun walking and eating while recovering in a Nashville hospital, according to the Associated Press.

Pike was taken to the hospital unconscious and in critical condition, with severe injuries to her arms, after two doses of pentobarbital failed to kill her during the execution attempt at Riverbend Maximum Security Institution. By Monday, her attorneys believed she might be brain-dead and expected life support to be withdrawn.

She regained consciousness and began speaking on Tuesday. Her lawyers said she took her first limited steps on Wednesday and walked again on Thursday after asking for assistance. She has also begun regaining movement in her arms and managed to eat for the first time since the procedure.

Despite these signs of progress, her attorneys say it remains unclear whether she will make a full physical recovery or what the long-term consequences will be. They also raised concerns about the psychological trauma of surviving a failed execution, including the fear, pain and uncertainty of believing she was about to die.

Pike was sentenced to death for her role as a teenager in the 1995 torture and murder of fellow student Colleen Slemmer, 19. Her attorneys argue that the execution attempt violated the constitutional prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment. They say Pike is the first known person in the United States to survive a completed execution attempt.