Christa Pike handcuffed and confused in hospital, still risks the executioner

Christa Pike remembers her name, but remembers nothing of the dramatic moments of the failed execution, the one that last September 30th transformed her from a simple murderer on Tennessee's death row to a global symbol of the battle against the death penalty. With his case causing shock and indignation throughout the world.

According to his lawyers, his awakening after the two lethal injections is an "unprecedented" miracle. But Christa, 50 years old (she was 18 when she ended up on death row) still risks an appointment with the executioner, despite the suspension at the time of all scheduled executions. "The state has decreed a moratorium but has made no commitment to the future," explained Luke Ihnen, one of the woman's lawyers. "And the evidence - he argued - is essential for any dispute Pike wants to advance": from the seven used syringes to the IV cannulae, including any chemical substances used.

The case therefore remains open. Citing the woman's remorse, her lawyers had requested that the sentence be commuted to life imprisonment before the execution. But the matter has now entered a limbo: to return to office the lawyers need Christa's consent, while to be put to death again the woman would have to demonstrate that she is able to fully understand the punishment she would potentially face. Which, at present, doctors are not convinced of. Although Pike has regained consciousness, in fact, he has memory lapses, "he thinks it is still September" and is able to communicate "in a limited way", his lawyers explained in court in Nashville.

Meanwhile, Christa continues to be treated at state expense, to the irritation of those who militate in the 'executioner's party'. And, despite everything, she remains handcuffed hand and foot to the bed rails, despite her protests. The case has also relaunched the debate on executions in the USA, where an increasingly narrow majority is in favor of state death.

In the dock is above all pentabarbitol, a powerful anesthetic used mainly in veterinary medicine for the euthanasia of animals, which in these hours could be put to the test again in Texas, with the execution of Jamal Howard, an African American convicted a quarter of a century ago for the murder of a shop assistant. Citing the Pike case, the man's lawyers asked for a 30-day break. Texas uses pentobarbital prepared by pharmacies specializing in galenic preparations, because pharmaceutical companies refuse to sell it for capital executions. The resulting shortage of supplies has pushed the State to test the available vials and, if still considered effective, to extend their use date beyond the original expiration.