Christa Pike Regains Consciousness After Failed Execution in Tennessee

Christa Pike, who survived two doses of a lethal injection drug last week during a botched execution in Tennessee, is conscious and speaking, her lawyers said in a statement on Tuesday.Ms.

Pike continues to receive critical medical care at a Nashville hospital, the lawyers said.The prognosis remains unclear, they said, but they expected a long recovery.“Christa is a survivor and will take recovery one day at a time,” the lawyers said.

Ms.Pike, 50, is believed to be the first person to have survived doses of a lethal injection drug.

She has been hospitalized since late Wednesday evening, after it became clear to witnesses that she was still breathing after two doses of pentobarbital, the drug used in lethal injection.She had been unconscious and on a ventilator in recent days as medical staff worked to rid her body of the drug.

The lawyers pointedly noted that Ms.Pike, who they said had sustained burns and other injuries to her arm, remained handcuffed and shackled to her bed.

Ms.Pike had been on death row for three decades after a conviction for her role in the 1995 torture and murder of a classmate, Colleen Slemmer.

The lawyers have renewed their plea for Gov.Bill Lee, a Republican, to reconsider allowing her to serve the rest of her life in prison.

This is a developing story.Check back for updates....