Christa Pike has handcuffs removed in hospital after botched execution — but is not ‘escape risk,’ lawyer claims

By New York Post (U.S.) | Created at 2026-10-09 21:11:57 | Updated at 2026-10-09 21:52:25 45 minutes ago

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Christa Pike’s handcuffs have been removed as she recovers in hospital from her botched execution — but she still has one foot shackled, her lawyer said.

The convicted murderer, 50, became the first US death row inmate ever to survive lethal injection on Sept. 30 in Tennessee and has been receiving treatment to recover from two doses of pentobarbital.

This handout photo provided by the Tennessee Department of Correction shows convicted U.S. murderer Christa Pike on Thursday, January 12, 2023. Pike, who was sentenced to death for a murder she committed as a teenager, survived a botched execution at a Tennessee prison where she received two supposedly lethal doses of pentobarbital. Tennessee Department of Correction/AFP via Getty Images

“Ms. Pike’s handcuffs have been removed; however, one foot remains shackled to the bed,” her attorney, Luke Ihnen, said in a court filing Thursday after visiting her the previous day.

“Ms. Pike is under guard by three, armed corrections officers,” he added. “Ms. Pike is not an escape risk. Nor is she physically capable of doing so.”

Here’s the latest on the botched execution of Tennessee murderer Christa Pike:

Pike’s lawyers asked during a court hearing on Wednesday for her hand to be unshackled at the request of the medical personnel treating her.

The prisoner was sentenced to death for the sadistic slaying of her 19-year-old Job Corps classmate, Colleen Slemmer, in Jan. 1995, when she was 18.

On Monday night, her legal team believed she was brain dead and would be taken off life support the following day.

Instead, she woke up and started talking on Tuesday morning — and by Wednesday afternoon was walking with help.

Christa Gail Pike looks around as someone enters the courtroom during a hearing for a new trial in Knoxville, Tennessee, Jan. 12, 2001. USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Emergency vehicles arrive at Riverbend Maximum Security Institution, Thursday, Oct. 1, 2026. USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

The state has not confirmed whether it will reschedule Pike’s execution in the future.

Tennessee Governor Bill Lee paused all remaining executions this year following the fiasco and ordered an independent review into what went wrong.

Pike’s lawyers have called for Gov. Lee to commute Pike’s sentence to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

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