Christa Pike remains hospitalized and on a ventilator days after surviving an attempted execution in Tennessee, and her attorney says she may never fully recover. Stephen Ferrell, who represents Pike, disclosed the details during an appearance on CNN with Jake Tapper on Sunday, according to TMZ.com.
Ferrell described his client as "critically ill" and said her hospital room is under guard. "She is guarded. I'm not sure who may have seen her. I know I have not seen her," Ferrell told CNN. He added that the state of Tennessee has not yet indicated whether it will seek to carry out another execution.
The attorney said Pike's long-term prognosis is unknown, a factor he believes will leave the situation unresolved for some time. "I think one of the main things that will leave this up in the air for a while is the fact that we don't know what the prognosis is, as in the long term prognosis," Ferrell said, speaking to CNN. If the state does not proceed with another execution, Ferrell said he believes Pike "may not fully recover."
Pike survived despite receiving two lethal injections. Witnesses to the failed execution reported that she indicated severe pain in her arm before losing consciousness and beginning to snore. According to Ferrell, doctors remain baffled as to how she survived and are still working to clear the lethal drug pentobarbital from her body.
The case has drawn renewed attention to capital punishment procedures in Tennessee, with questions mounting over how the execution was carried out and what comes next for Pike. No timeline has been given for a decision on whether the state will attempt to execute her again.