Christa Pike Execution

Christa Pike is awake and talking after surviving Tennessee's botched attempt to execute her last week ... her attorneys told TMZ Tuesday.

Pike remains hospitalized in Nashville, where her lawyers say she's still receiving critical care after suffering severe damage to her arms. Despite the improvement, they say her prognosis remains unclear, and she's facing a long recovery.

We're told her legal team plans to see and speak with her this evening.

A Tennessee death row inmate convicted of killing his buddy shortly after bailing him out of jail just caught a major break ... thanks to the botched execution of Christa Pike.

Gary Wayne Sutton was scheduled to be executed Dec. 3, but Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee pulled the plug on the state's remaining executions this year after officials failed to put Pike to death.

Sutton has been sitting on death row for decades for the 1992 murders of siblings Tommy Griffin and Connie Branam ... and the circumstances surrounding Griffin's death are especially wild.

Tennessee's prison chief is stepping down just days after the failed execution of Christa Pike left her on a ventilator.

Tennessee Department of Correction Commissioner Frank Strada said that his resignation "is in the best interests" of the state ... as it conducts a third-party review of why the execution was botched.

Tennessee Governor Bill Lee -- who announced the resignation Saturday -- also spoke out about the decision for Strada to step aside, saying he was "grateful for his commitment" to ensure a smooth transition.

Before 2 lethal injections failed to execute her ... Christa Pike refused her last meal and requested the cheesy dish be given to the homeless instead.

When Pike was offered the chance to choose a last meal ... she asked that the $20 allocated for the food be used to buy pizza for the homeless ... the New York Times reported.

As you know ... Pike's execution did not go as planned. Despite being administered 2 lethal injections, Pike complained about pain in her arm before becoming unconscious and snoring.

Debate rages over Jane Doe and the Cornell frat bros ... the question: Will they be charged? Plus, another tragedy for Gypsy Rose Blanchard, Tony Romo sacked at CBS, and Diddy's Bad Boy life in prison. So, we gotta ask ...

Christa Pike's blood condition may have saved her life temporarily, a doctor says ... though he's making it clear she doesn't have a super resistance to pentobarbital -- the drug that was supposed to kill her.

Dr. Joel Zivot -- a respected anesthesiologist who previously examined Christa -- sat down with Jakson on TMZ's YouTube series, "In The Know," to discuss what happened during Wednesday's botched execution in Tennessee ... telling us he thinks Christa's thrombocytosis may have played a role.

Basically, Dr. Zivot says Christa has a high platelet count ... and platelets rush to the site of an injury to clot the blood -- keeping humans from bleeding out if they get a paper cut.

An IV punctures the vein ... so platelets rush to the area and, in a person like Christa with thrombocytosis, excessive clots can form inside the vein, blocking it off entirely.

Christa Pike experienced extreme pain during her botched execution in Tennessee because the drug administered to her by the state failed to knock her out and may have caused her to jerk around and foam at the mouth, according to a death penalty expert.

Deborah Denno, a 30-year professor at Fordham Law School whose articles on capital punishment have been cited by the U.S. Supreme Court, tells TMZ ... the whole objective in putting someone to death is to make sure the prisoner does not feel any pain during the execution -- and Tennessee failed big time on that front concerning Pike. 

In her case, Pike was administered two doses of Pentobarbital -- a barbiturate that acts as a central nervous depressant -- to carry out the state's lethal injection mandate, Denno tells us.

Christa Pike was unconscious more than a day after officials screwed up her execution ... and she's not even breathing on her own, her lawyers say.

The convicted killer's legal team filed documents Friday asking a judge to preserve all evidence related to the botched execution ... and noted that, as of the night of October 1, Pike was "intubated, on a ventilator, and remains unconscious."

Her attorneys say her arms were swollen, burned, and blistered ... and they say hospital staff are working furiously to save her life and clear the pentobarbital from her system.

The Cornell gang rape case just took another bizarre turn ... with accused fraternity brothers claiming the woman at the center of the case told them the group sex was consensual and even called it "normal in the medieval times."

Check out the new YouTube collab between TMZ and the New York Post, "The Low Down," where we bring you stories that are gripping, outrageous, and sometimes scandalous.

Halle Berry and her ex-husband Olivier Martinez are trading explosive allegations ... he claims she choked their son, while Halle calls the accusation "meritless" and is firing back with claims about his own allegedly violent behavior.

Christa Pike raised serious concerns about the doctor who was assigned to give her a lethal injection, asking tough questions weeks before he botched her execution ... TMZ has learned.

TMZ obtained court docs filed by Christa in August … a short time before her scheduled execution on September 30 ... and she claims prosecutors went to "great lengths to protect and conceal the identity of the physician that the State of Tennessee uses in its executions.”

She said the government objected to any questions about the qualifications of the doctor scheduled. Christa's legal team claimed the physician made a statement to a news outlet about his intention to participate in her execution.

Christa Pike claimed she was the victim of horrific childhood abuse at the hands of relatives as she fought to get taken off death row ... and her allegations are horrifying.

TMZ obtained court docs from previous appeals in her murder case in which the convicted murderer laid out the abuse she claims to have suffered in her childhood ... and it's a lot to take in.

Christa, who was fighting to be taken off death row at the time based on ineffective assistance of counsel, claimed the court had not considered the abuse and neglect she suffered ... including sexual abuse from multiple abusers and her placement in juvenile facilities where she said the "semblance of continuity and stability actually caused her to sabotage her own chances of going home."

Christa Pike made some horrific noises for nearly an hour during her botched execution ... and one local TV news anchor who was there is describing it for us ... and it sounds unpleasant.

Tori Gessner -- an anchor for WKRN news in Tennessee -- joined us on "TMZ Live" Thursday to discuss what she saw and heard during Wednesday night's execution attempt ... which she says got off to a weird start when they didn't open the curtain for nearly an hour.

Tori says it's normal for the curtain to be closed at first ... and that during this time, it's generally assumed IVs are being attached to the inmate.

However, Tori says this usually takes 10 to 15 minutes ... but this time it took about an hour. During this time, she says she could hear some moaning, whimpering, and crying.

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 to 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 Pike's attorneys are calling on Tennessee to commute her death sentence after her failed execution ... saying Pike was actually helping the execution team try to place her IV lines.

Randy Spivey and Stephen Ferrell both urged the state to take another execution attempt off the table Thursday ... arguing Pike had already endured a cruel and traumatic ordeal.

Spivey said Pike remained "kind, cooperative and at peace" as workers struggled to establish access ... even telling them to try higher up toward her shoulder and thanking them when they thought they'd gotten a line.

Christa Pike's ex-boyfriend -- who helped her torture and kill a 19-year-old woman -- is still locked up ... but he's taking steps to change his scenery.

Tadaryl Shipp is currently housed in Tennessee's Northwest Correctional Complex ... according to Department of Corrections records obtained by TMZ.

Shipp -- who had been sentenced to life -- was previously denied parole in Oct. 2025.

However ... Department of Corrections records show that his case will be reviewed again in Oct. 2031.

Christa Pike's botched execution was a total disaster ... according to the mother of the girl Christa murdered in 1995.

May Martinez -- Colleen Slemmer's mom -- told NBC News in a phone interview Thursday ... "It was a mess."

As you know, Christa survived 2 lethal injections Wednesday night in Tennessee during her attempted execution for Colleen's murder.

Nashville reporter Tori Gessner described the execution during a news conference, saying she could hear Pike say ... "My arm feels like it's about to burst open."