Lawyers for Christa Pike say she is conscious and able to speak after an attempted execution in Tennessee failed, according to RTE.ie. Pike is a death row inmate in the United States.
Coverage of her condition has shifted over a short period. The Journal reported that Pike was unconscious and on a ventilator following the failed procedure. The Guardian, citing her lawyers, later reported that she was conscious and speaking. BBC also reported that she was conscious after the failed execution, attributing that account to her legal team.
The accounts differ on her condition at different points, and the reports rely on statements from her lawyers rather than a full official medical account.
Separately, CNN reported that Tennessee's outgoing prison chief had a record of execution missteps before the case involving Pike, according to officials. That reporting places the failed procedure in the context of earlier problems with how the state has carried out executions.
No further details on Pike's current medical status, the cause of the failure, or any official response were available in the reporting summarized here.
What to watch next: whether Tennessee authorities release an official account of what went wrong and confirm Pike's present condition.
