Christa Pike's Lawyer Says She's Critically Ill in Hospital, Not Comatose

Christa Pike's botched execution attempt took a serious toll on her ... with her lawyer saying she's in bad shape in the hospital -- but making it clear she's not in a coma.

An attorney for the convicted killer tells TMZ ... "Christa is critically ill but not in a coma as I understand it." He tells us she's still unconscious and unable communicate.

The attorney also adds Christa's execution warrant expired at midnight ... so the Tennessee Supreme Court will have to set a new date before they can try to execute her again.

Christa's lawyer notes they can set a date independently of Tennessee Governor Bill Lee's pause on executions, meaning they could pick a date before the end of the year -- but expects they'll wait until the independent investigation is resolved.

As we've reported ... witnesses at the execution watched as two syringes of lethal injection chemicals were dispensed into Christa's body -- but she was "still breathing and snoring" through it.

Officials rushed her from Riverbend Maximum Security Institution to a local hospital.

Advocacy groups have tried for weeks to stop the execution -- the first instance of capital punishment involving a woman in the state since 1819 -- to no avail.