Christa Pike is walking with help and eating after failed execution attempt

Attorneys for Christa Pike hold a news conference after a judge ruled the Tennessee Department of Corrections must preserve all evidence related to the failed execution of Pike, Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2026, in Nashville, Tenn. George Walker IV/AP hide caption

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Christa Pike has begun walking and eating again at a hospital a week after surviving Tennessee's attempt to execute her with lethal drugs, her attorneys said Thursday.

Pike, 50, survived two doses of pentobarbital as the state sought to giver her a lethal injection eight days ago for the 1995 beating and stabbing death of classmate Colleen Slemmer. The drug didn't kill her, and her arms were left burned and blistered, according to her lawyers. For the first few days of her hospitalization, Pike was unconscious and on a ventilator.

Her first steps on Wednesday were "limited" and she required some assistance as she walked on Thursday, her lawyers said in a statement. She is also regaining mobility in her arms, and she was able to eat for the first time.

But the lawyers warned uncertainty remains about her physical recovery and her legal standing after the attempt to carry out her death sentence.

The failed execution on Sept. 30 has renewed scrutiny of how states carry out the death penalty. Texas on Wednesday carried out the first execution in the U.S. since the Tennessee attempt.

"While her physical recovery has been remarkable, significant questions remain about the long-term effects of what she endured," her attorneys said in Thursday's statement. "Christa is dealing with the profound psychological trauma of having survived a failed execution, including the terror, pain and uncertainty of believing she was about to die."

Pike regained consciousness Tuesday and was able to speak after awakening, they said.