Christa Pike wakes in hospital after failed execution in Tennessee

Christa Pike, who survived after being given two doses of the lethal drug pentobarbital during an execution attempt in Tennessee, has woken from a coma after receiving intensive care in hospital.

Operative Information Center-OMM reports that medical experts and lawyers have described the case of a death-row inmate surviving after the drug was administered as a medical event with no known precedent worldwide.

Pike’s lawyers said she had suffered severe tissue damage to her arms and that her recovery would take a long time.

In response to the serious incident, Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee announced a temporary suspension of all executions in the state through the end of the year. The head of the state’s corrections department is also reportedly set to resign.

Authorities have not yet issued an official statement on the next legal steps in Pike’s case or on the implementation of her sentence following the failed execution attempt.

Tennessee is among the U.S. states that retain capital punishment. Pentobarbital is used in some U.S. lethal-injection protocols, although execution procedures and their administration vary by state.