Krista Pike was released from the hospital after a failed execution attempt and returned to prison.

Author, News Department

Place of work, BBC Russian Service

Published a minute ago

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US death row inmate Krista Pike was released from hospital after a failed attempt to carry out her sentence in late September, her lawyers said.

The 50-year-old convicted murderer has returned to prison, where she spent the last 30 years, their statement said. There she continues to receive the necessary medical care.

On September 30, Pike survived two injections of a lethal dose of pentobarbital, after which she ended up in the hospital in critical condition.

Earlier this week, she regained consciousness and began speaking, surprising experts, medical staff and her lawyers.

According to defense attorneys, her first words were, “Where am I?” and “Who are you?”

“She is grateful to the emergency personnel and medical team for their care during these extraordinary circumstances,” the lawyers said in a statement.

Pike's case is being called unprecedented: she is believed to be the only person to survive an attempted execution by lethal injection.

At a court hearing Wednesday, Tennessee Assistant Attorney General Will Ayers told the judge he did not know whether the state intended to set a new execution date for Pike.

The judge also ordered Tennessee authorities to preserve all evidence related to the botched execution. These materials could form the basis of a future lawsuit against the state.

Pike was 18 years old when she and her then-boyfriend Tadaryl Shipp beat, tortured and killed 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer; they met at a training center for youth from low-income families.

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