Failed death injection... Christa Pike gets out of bed

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American death row convict Christa Pike (50 years old) began standing and walking inside her hospital room, a little more than a week after she survived two doses of a deadly drug during a failed execution in the state of Tennessee, while she still suffers from arm injuries and mental confusion, and the state continues to review what happened.

This improvement came recently after it was announced that she had suffered brain death before she regained consciousness and began to speak, in a transformation that the defense team described as dramatic, and sparked widespread shock inside and outside the United States, and reignited the criticism of those opposed to the death penalty.

Stephen Ferrell, one of Pike's lawyers, told the BBC that his client currently only walks short distances inside the room, and that her arms are severely injured and her ability to use them is limited.

Pike was taken to hospital, unconscious but alive, after receiving two doses of pentobarbital in the execution chamber, according to what the Guardian reported.

Ferrell explained that Pike's state of mind is two-sided: she is largely conscious, but easily loses her train of thought and forgets where she is going while speaking. He added that the defense team is seeking to obtain psychological support for her, considering that it has become necessary.

The lawyer said it was likely that her condition would continue to improve, but he did not rule out permanent damage, noting that the full picture was not yet clear. Another lawyer on the team, Randy Spivey, had stated that she was unable to move her arms and was suffering from pneumonia and a blood clot, and that she was still tied to the hospital bed by the feet and right arm, according to her team.

One of her lawyers described the process as brutal and torturous, explaining that he counted 7 needles in her left arm, and that one of them appeared bent when withdrawn. The defense team reported that Pike lifted her head off the bed while being given the injection and said her arms were burning.

Its lawyers had warned before the implementation that the executors might find it difficult to find the veins, but the state proceeded with the procedures and the US Supreme Court allowed this. Medical experts believe that a large portion of the drug may have leaked into the surrounding tissues, or that one of its veins exploded, or that the drug itself was defective, or that more than one factor came together.

The case dates back to 1995, when Pike, who was 18 years old, and her 17-year-old boyfriend, killed their colleague Colleen Slemmer, 19, at the Knoxville Job Corps Center. According to the prosecution, Pike feared that Slimer would seek to keep her boyfriend, Tadaryl Shipp, away from her, so they lured her to an empty space, tortured her, and killed her.

Shipp was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole, while Pike was sentenced to death and spent nearly thirty years in isolation. She did not deny her participation in the crime, and was later diagnosed with bipolar disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder. Her lawyers said that the first defense team did not present evidence of the sexual and physical abuse she was subjected to in her childhood.

Tennessee Governor Bill Lee rejected her clemency request, but later froze the rest of the state's executions until the end of the year, and ordered a comprehensive review by an independent party to find out exactly what happened.