NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Christa Pike has been discharged from a hospital and returned to the women prison in Nashville where she was incarcerated for more than 30 years before a failed execution attempt, her legal team said Saturday.
Attorneys said Pike is now at Debra K. Johnson Rehabilitation Center, the women prison where she was housed for decades. She is continuing to receive medical care at the prison, and counsel said they will continue to track her recovery after what they called extraordinary circumstances.
Pike, 50, survived a lethal injection attempt on Sept. 30 and was hospitalized afterward. Local coverage said she was discharged just days after she was conscious and speaking, then returned to Debra K. Johnson Rehabilitation Center.
In the wake of the failed lethal injection, Gov. Bill Lee has put a moratorium on executions this year to allow for a review of the state protocols. Lee also postponed the state only other scheduled execution this year and ordered a review of what went wrong.
Pike attorneys have repeatedly called on the governor to commute the sentence to life without the possibility of parole. The Tennessee Department of Correction has not publicly detailed what failed during the Sept. 30 attempt.
For residents following the case in Nashville, Tenn., the hospital discharge and prison return mark the latest public update since the Sept. 30 attempt, while the protocol review ordered by Gov. Bill Lee continues at the state level. Attorneys said medical care is ongoing inside the prison as recovery continues.
