Christa Pike execution: Colleen Slemmer’s mother breaks silence after killer survives lethal injection

The mother of a teenager murdered by Christa Pike has broken her silence after her daughter’s killer survived an execution that was supposed to end her life.

May Martinez says she had a feeling the 50-year-old death row inmate would survive the botched lethal injection in Tennessee, as questions mount over whether the state will ever attempt to execute her again.

Pike was sentenced to death for the 1995 murder of 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer, but survived two doses of the execution drug pentobarbital on September 30.

The convicted killer was left unconscious and on a ventilator before regaining consciousness six days later, in a development her lawyers have described as medically unprecedented.

Speaking to NBC affiliate WBIR, Ms Martinez revealed she had suspected Pike would survive the procedure and said she doubted authorities would make another attempt to carry out her death sentence.

Asked what she wanted to happen next, the grieving mother offered a striking response.

“It doesn’t matter what I think. They’re going to do what they’re going to do.”

Her comments come as an extraordinary legal debate unfolds over whether Pike can be subjected to a second execution after surviving the first.

Could Christa Pike face execution again?

Pike’s survival has raised questions about whether another attempt would amount to cruel and unusual punishment or violate constitutional protections against double jeopardy.

Fordham Law professor Deborah Denno, who has studied execution methods for 36 years, believes Pike has strong grounds to challenge any second attempt, Mirror reported.

“She has satisfied this very, very high standard for cruel and unusual punishment,” Ms Denno said.

“She also has a very good double-jeopardy argument. They carried out every aspect of the execution. She didn’t die, but every process they intended, they did it.”

However, Seattle University law professor Michael Russo, a former public defender who handled capital cases in Los Angeles, questioned whether the US Supreme Court would prevent Tennessee from trying again.

“There’s nobody else in the history of the death penalty in this country who has gone through what she’s been through,” Mr Russo said.

But, he added, “I think what this Supreme Court would say is, her sentence was to die — to be executed — not to suffer an attempt at execution.”

The conflicting legal opinions leave Pike’s future uncertain, with her recovery potentially becoming another factor in whether the state can pursue a second execution.

‘Against all odds’: Killer’s extraordinary recovery

Pike remains in intensive care after the failed procedure, with her legal team revealing she suffered severe injuries to her arms.

“Against all odds, Christa Pike is conscious, speaking, and continues to receive critical medical care. Despite the severe damage she endured to her arms, she is still handcuffed and shackled to the bed. Her recovery is medically unprecedented.”

Dr Joel Zivot, an anaesthesiology and surgery professor who has advised Pike’s legal team, said her return to consciousness was encouraging but warned that the full extent of her recovery remained unknown.

The doctor said the development “bodes well for a good recovery.”

However, it could take weeks or months to determine whether Pike will recover sufficiently to understand another execution.

“She’s still in the ICU.”

Pike’s lawyers are now urging Tennessee Governor Bill Lee to commute her death sentence to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.

Lee has halted further executions following the incident and ordered a “comprehensive, third-party review to determine exactly what occurred.”

Meanwhile, Republican US Senator Marsha Blackburn, who is seeking to succeed Lee as governor, has called for Tennessee to examine alternative execution methods.

For Ms Martinez, the latest developments mean the legal fallout from her daughter’s murder continues more than three decades after Colleen’s death, with no certainty about what will happen to the woman convicted of killing her.