<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Lawyers for Christa Pike, a Tennessee woman who survived an execution attempt, reported on Friday that she is unconscious and intubated following the failed procedure this week.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Pike, 50, was scheduled for execution on Wednesday but remains alive after two attempts to administer lethal injection. Her lawyer stated in a court filing that she is in critical condition at a Nashville hospital.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">According to Pike’s attorneys, both of her arms were swollen and blistered upon her arrival at the hospital. They stated that she is "intubated, on a ventilator, and unconscious." </p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">In a Davidson County court filing, Pike’s attorneys requested that evidence of the alleged "incompetent and reckless actions" during the execution be preserved. The filing also reviewed what they described as a "botched" execution attempt.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">The filing noted, "Two days ago, the State of Tennessee attempted to execute Ms. Pike. Many facts from that botched execution have been publicly reported: the TDOC IV team attempted to gain IV access by using at least seven needles; at one point, Ms. Pike herself offered guidance on where the IV team could attempt access; one needle was bent at a 90-degree angle when it was removed." </p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Pike was reportedly administered two syringes containing lethal doses of pentobarbital and could be heard "crying and whimpering" before stating that her arm felt like it was "about to burst open." </p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Randy Spivey, one of Pike’s attorneys, emphasized during a press conference on Thursday that Pike’s underlying medical conditions, including a blood-clotting condition, increased her risk for an unusually drawn-out execution by lethal injection.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Spivey called on Governor Bill Lee (R-TN) to commute Pike’s death sentence immediately. Lee ordered an independent review of the failed execution and canceled the remaining executions scheduled for the year. The governor had previously denied Pike’s request for clemency.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Pike was convicted of first-degree murder and conspiracy charges and sentenced to death in 1996, when she was 20.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Pike was convicted and sentenced for the murder of her classmate, Colleen Slemmer, when she was 18, alongside her then-17-year-old boyfriend, Tadaryl Shipp, who received a life sentence.</p>
<p class="wp-block-paragraph">Pike’s execution was scheduled for 10 a.m. Wednesday, but the court delayed the execution to consider her challenge regarding her history of childhood sexual abuse. After the Supreme Court allowed the execution to proceed, with dissent from three justices nominated by Democratic presidents, the botched execution occurred on Wednesday night.</p>