Christa Pike's lawyers say she is conscious after failed Tennessee execution

Lawyers for Christa Pike said on Tuesday that the 50-year-old death row inmate is conscious and able to speak after last week's failed execution. She is still receiving critical care in hospital and, according to her attorneys, is handcuffed and shackled to the bed. They described her recovery as medically unprecedented, said her prognosis is unclear, and said they expect at a minimum a long recovery.

Joel Zivot, an anaesthesiologist advising Pike's team, told the BBC that she can communicate in a basic way. He said she has some memories of being in hospital but, he believes, none of the execution attempt. Pike remembered her name but wrongly guessed that the current month was September.

What happened during the attempt

On September 30, Pike, who was due to become the first woman executed in Tennessee in more than 200 years, survived two doses of pentobarbital, a sedative. Witnesses said they heard her choking and struggling for an hour after the first injection. A second dose also failed to kill her, and she was hospitalised, placed on a ventilator and listed in critical condition.

Corrections chief to step down

Governor Bill Lee announced that Frank Strada, the Tennessee commissioner of correction, will leave his post in late October while an independent investigation proceeds. Lee called the case deeply disturbing but said that, as far as is known, the department followed the protocol exactly. Strada said his departure would be in the state's best interests. Death penalty lawyers say Strada oversaw five botched executions.

At a hearing on Wednesday, Pike's legal team will ask a court to require the department of correction to preserve all relevant physical, written and electronic evidence tied to the failed execution, according to court documents. The lawyers also scheduled a press conference for Tuesday at 12pm ET.