In Tennessee, 50‑year‑old death‑row inmate Christa Pike survived two lethal doses of the execution drug pentobarbital. After the drugs failed to kill her, doctors declared her brain‑dead and prepared to remove life support, but she suddenly woke up and started talking.

Pike’s lawyer, Stephen Ferrell, told the BBC that she is now walking around her hospital room, although she remains “somewhat foggy” mentally. He said he has not seen her personally but receives updates from medical staff.

The case is unique. According to the Death Penalty Information Center, Pike is the only inmate in the United States ever to survive lethal injection after receiving lethal doses of the drug.

Pike was sentenced to death in 1996 for the torture and murder of her classmate, Colleen Slemmer, a crime she committed at age 18. Since the botched execution, her legal team has repeatedly asked Governor Bill Lee to commute her sentence to life imprisonment.

Governor Lee responded by suspending all executions in Tennessee while an independent investigation examines what went wrong. On Wednesday, a court ordered Tennessee corrections officials to keep every piece of evidence from the botched execution, including medical supplies and video recordings.

The incident has sparked renewed debate over whether lethal injection is truly humane or reliable. Critics argue that Pike’s survival shows the method can fail dramatically, while supporters say the rare mishap does not prove the system flawed.