Christa Pike, who survived a failed execution attempt, discharged from hospital

Christa Pike, a 50-year-old woman on death row in the United States who survived a failed execution attempt at the end of September, has been discharged from hospital and returned to prison. This follows a statement from her lawyers, cited by the British broadcaster BBC. Her case is unprecedented: she is believed to be the only person to have survived an attempted execution by lethal injection.

Return to prison

According to the lawyers' statement, she was taken back to the prison where she has spent the past 30 years. She continues to receive medical care there.

What happened during the execution

During the execution on 30 September, Pike was given two injections of the lethal drug pentobarbital. She was then taken to hospital in critical condition. Earlier this week she regained consciousness and began to speak, surprising experts, medical staff and her lawyers, the BBC reports.

The crime behind the sentence

Pike was convicted of murder. She was 18 in 1995 when, together with her then-boyfriend Tadaryl Shipp, she beat, tortured and killed 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer. The three had met at a job training camp for young people from low-income families.