Christa Pike returned to Nashville prison after surviving execution attempt

Condemned inmate Christa Pike has returned to a Nashville prison after surviving a lethal injection attempt. Her legal team confirmed her release from the hospital on Saturday. She is 50 years old.

Pike is back at the Debra K. Johnson Rehabilitation Center. She lived at the women’s facility for 30 years, her attorneys stated in writing.

“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 later woke up, talked, and walked with assistance.

Pike is the first person to survive receiving lethal injection drugs during an execution. The Death Penalty Information Center reported that finding.

The Tennessee Department of Correction has not said what went wrong. Medical and lethal injection experts focused on a possible problem with the IV line. They examined whether the drug pooled in her tissue instead of entering her bloodstream.

Her attorneys discussed the line placement in a court filing. “Apparently at no point did any member of the execution team realize that the IV lines were not correctly placed,” the lawyers wrote.

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee postponed the only other scheduled execution in the state this year. He ordered a review of the event. The state prison chief resigned.

Officials asked Pike for a final statement as the process began in Nashville. She spoke of being at peace. She raised her head about five minutes later and said her arm hurt.

She later appeared to lose consciousness. Witnesses heard her breathing heavily. Media witnesses left the room nearly 90 minutes into the execution. An ambulance took her to a hospital.

The Debra K. Johnson Rehabilitation Center operates as a state correctional facility for women in Nashville. State execution protocols involve dedicated execution teams and medical transfers during medical emergencies.

Her attorneys continue to track her recovery behind bars.