An American female death row inmate who survived after being administered lethal injection drugs twice has regained consciousness on the 6th (local time), one week after her execution.

According to the Associated Press and other sources, Christa Pike, 50, who survived and was transported to a hospital following her execution by lethal injection at a prison in Nashville, Tennessee, on September 30, regained consciousness on this day and is able to speak, her attorneys said in a statement.

The defense team stated that Pike is still receiving treatment in the intensive care unit and remains shackled to her bed with handcuffs and leg irons despite having severe injuries on both arms.

They added, "Pike's recovery is medically unprecedented. While the prognosis is uncertain, at a minimum, recovery is expected to be prolonged," and expressed gratitude to "the paramedics and hospital staff who treated Christa with humanity and provided exceptional care."

A spokesperson for the Tennessee Department of Correction stated that no other information could be provided beyond the fact that Pike is currently hospitalized.

Pike was sentenced to death for murdering 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer along with her boyfriend in 1995 when she was 18 years old, and she became subject to execution after serving about 30 years.

Following Pike's survival, Tennessee Governor Bill Lee ordered a comprehensive third-party investigation to figure out the situation and announced that he would suspend additional executions scheduled for this year.

Frank Strada, the state commissioner of correction and the official responsible for the execution, also announced his resignation.

Meanwhile, the lethal drug administered to Pike was pentobarbital, which was officially adopted as a federal execution drug during the first Trump administration.

Later, the Joe Biden administration completely suspended federal-level executions, and in January 2025, just before President Trump took office for his second term, the use of this drug for executions was abolished on the grounds that it could cause unnecessary pain and suffering to death row inmates.

However, the second Trump administration reauthorized the use of this drug for federal executions last April.

(Photo: AP, Yonhap News)