An attorney for Christa Pike said at a press conference he was told on Monday, Oct. 5, that she was brain ᴅᴇᴀᴅ and would not survive. The next day, she was responsive
On Monday, Oct. 5, Christa Pike’s attorney Randy Spivey received some upsetting news about his client.
Despite somehow surviving a botched execution six days prior — during which she was injected with two fatal doses of pentobarbital — the decision had been made to remove Pike from life support.
“On Monday night it was our understanding that Christa was brain ᴅᴇᴀᴅ and that life support would be removed the next day,” Spivey said at a news conference held outside the Davidson County Chancery Court on Wednesday, Oct. 7. “But on Tuesday, to the shock of everyone, Christa woke up and began talking.”
Spivey added that he does not “have an explanation for what happened between Monday night and Tuesday morning,” and noted that Pike “has a long road to recovery.”
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According to the attorney, Pike has a blood clot in her arm, is suffering from pneumonia and still cannot swallow, which means she has not eaten in a week.
Spivey also said that he was not in the room with her Tuesday morning, but was told what happened later that day.
“I don’t want to speculate too much, but from our understanding the first thing she said when she woke up was, ‘Where am I, and who are you?” Spivey said.
He declined to answer any specific medical questions because of his lack of medical qualifications, but said Pike does have some memory of what happened to her on Sept. 30.
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At the same time, Spivey said she is often “spaced out” for extended periods of time and still confused about a number of things.
Pike is also “very aware that the state tried to execute her,” he said.
Her attorneys, including Spivey, have already filed a case against the state on their client’s behalf, and were speaking out after the first hearing in those proceedings.
After hearing arguments for just over an hour Wednesday, Chancellor I’Ashea L. Myles ruled that the Tennessee Department of Corrections (TDOC) must preserve all evidence relating to Pike’s botched execution on Sept. 30.
She then began to list the specific things that are to be preserved, beginning with the physical evidence from inside the execution room — including any trash, needles, medical supplies, gurneys and the IV lines.
Next, she ordered all surveillance footage, handwritten notes or logs, pH๏τographs and emails to be preserved, along with any encrypted messages.
Myles also said that the TDOC must preserve all information and communication relating to the botched execution, as well as the manuals and guidelines used in preparation for delivering a lethal injection.
Pike, who is being cared for in an undisclosed Nashville hospital, was represented by her other attorney and Spivey’s co-counsel, Luke Ihnen, in court.
He accused state officials of blocking his access to his client in the hospital and also said that corrections officers have insisted on keeping Pike shackled and handcuffed to her hospital bed against the advice of medical staff.
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ᴀssistant Attorney General John W. Ayers, who argued on behalf of the state, denied that Pike’s lawyers were given limited access to their client and said that some evidence may not be able to be preserved because it is no longer in the possession of TDOC.
He also would not answer Myles when she asked if the state still planned to execute Pike.
Christa Pike Was Declared Brain ᴅᴇᴀᴅ, Set to Be Taken Off Life Support Just Hours Before She Started Talking An attorney for Christa Pike said at a…