Tennessee Death Row Inmate Christa Pike Conscious and Speaking After Failed Execution
Christa Pike, the Tennessee death row inmate whose execution was halted on September 30 after officials failed to establish IV access, has regained consciousness and is able to speak, her attorney said in a statement on October 6, the Associated Press reported.
Pike, convicted of the 1995 torture and murder of a fellow college student, has been on death row for three decades. On September 30, the state attempted to carry out her execution by lethal injection, but the execution team could not insert intravenous lines after an extended effort, and the procedure was called off.
Her attorney said Pike is now conscious and communicating, and condemned the attempt as cruel. The statement renewed calls from death penalty opponents to halt executions in Tennessee, citing the state's troubled history with lethal injection protocols.
The Tennessee Department of Correction said it is reviewing the incident. It was not immediately clear when or whether the state would set a new execution date. Pike's case has drawn national attention as one of the longest-running death penalty sagas in the country.
(Source: Associated Press)
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: Pepper6181, CC BY 2.5 (Wikimedia Commons)
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