Tennessee faced calls to abandon the execution of Christa Pike on Tuesday as the convicted killer became conscious in the hospital after her botched execution.
The 50-year-old had to be hooked up to a ventilator after the state failed to execute her through lethal injection on September 30.
But nearly a week later, the killer's attorneys said that she is reportedly 'conscious, speaking, and continues to receive critical medical care.'
Christa Pike is awake and speaking in the hospital after her botched execution on September 30. She was sentenced to death for the 1995 murder of her Knoxville Job Corps classmate Colleen Slemmer
Pike is currently at the Vanderbilt University Medical Center (pictured) receiving critical care, her attorneys said
Governor Bill Lee has yet to respond to repeated requests from Pike's attorneys and death penalty objectors to commute her sentence to life in prison
Pike was injected by at least seven needles as medical staff attempted to give her two lethal doses of pentobarbital that left her arms 'swollen, burned, and blistered,' her attorneys previously revealed.
According to a motion filed after the botched execution, 'At one point, Ms Pike herself offered guidance on where the IV team could attempt access; one needle was bent at a 90-degree angle when it was removed.'
Her lawyers stated she was administered two sets of syringes of the lethal drug and could be heard crying, whimpering and breathing loudly throughout the process.
During the procedure, she said: 'My arm feels like it's about to burst open,' and at another point, asked: 'Does this happen like that?'
Tennessee's execution protocol calls for a secondary set of drug syringes to be administered 'if the inmate is not deceased' after the first set. It does not spell out what happens if the subject is alive after the second set.
Nearly 80 years earlier, the Supreme Court considered whether a state could execute an inmate for a second time after a failed execution in Louisiana.
Willie Francis was 17 years old when the state first attempted to execute him in the electric chair in 1946, but the device failed to deliver enough current.
After a year, the Supreme Court ruled in 1947 that the failed execution had been an accident and that a second attempt did not amount to cruel and unusual punishment.
He was successfully executed later that year.
Pike has been on death row for 30 years after she was convicted of the 1995 murder of her Knoxville Jobs Corp classmate Colleen Slemmer (pictured)
The governor ordered an independent investigation into Pike's case and cancelled the only other remaining lethal injection for this year
However, legal experts argued Pike's case falls under different circumstances because months before the execution her attorneys warned that officials could struggle to access her small veins.
Columbia Law School professor Bernard Harcourt told USA Today that a second attempt could 'arguably violate double jeopardy.'
'What's interesting about that case is that the Supreme Court said it was an accident and, "You get to do it again,"' Harcourt said in reference to the Francis case.
'Christa Pike wasn't an accident. They knew.'
Pike's attorneys said they believed problems with the IV lines caused the pentobarbital to flow into her body instead of her bloodstream.
'Apparently at no point did any member of the execution team realize that the IV lines were not correctly placed or that the veins had blown and that the pentobarbital was, in whole or in part, entering Ms Pike's body,' the lawyers wrote in the court filing.
Instead of 'remedying this failure,' they prepared and administered a backup set of pentobarbital syringes, they wrote.
Maher told the outlet a second execution would 'likely be unconstitutional.'
'Of all the unknowns we have at the moment, the only thing I'm certain of is that she should not be subject to a second one,' she added.
Pike's then-boyfriend, Tadaryl Shipp (left), and an accomplice, Shadolla Peterson (right), also helped lure Slemmer to a wooded area before the couple tortured her to death
Pike could be heard crying, whimpering and breathing loudly throughout the procedure
The governor ordered an independent investigation into Pike's case and cancelled the only other remaining lethal injection for this year.
Her health update comes just days after Tennessee Department of Correction Commissioner Frank Strada announced he would step down from his role later this month.
The former prison chief oversaw Pike's attempted execution.
Strada said it was a 'great honor' to serve in his position and that he still 'believes the Department carried out its responsibilities in accordance with the established protocol.'
'Even so, stepping aside is in the best interest of Tennesseans as the independent review moves forward,' he said.
Pike's lawyers are seeking to have all evidence from her botched execution preserved so they can ensure accountability and protect her legal rights.
'We are working closely with those closest to Christa to respect her wishes, safeguard her privacy and protect her rights as a patient during this extraordinarily difficult time,' said Luke Ihnen, attorney for Pike with Federal Defender Services of Eastern Tennessee.
Tennessee's execution protocol does not outline what should be done if an inmate survives two lethal injection doses. The execution chamber where Pike was supposed to die is pictured
Pike also took a piece of Slemmer's skull (pictured in court during her murder trial) as a souvenir, according to investigators
'We ask that the public and the media respect that privacy as well.'
Pike has been on death row for 30 years after she was convicted of the 1995 murder of her Knoxville Job Corps classmate Colleen Slemmer.
Pike's boyfriend at the time, Tadaryl Shipp, helped lure the victim to a wooded area before the couple tortured her to death.
An accomplice, Shadolla Peterson, was on lookout as the pair carved a pentagram into the teen's chest, police evidence showed.
Pike also took a piece of her skull as a souvenir, according to investigators.
Slemmer attempted to run for her life but the couple captured her again and continued the gruesome torture that lasted about 30 minutes to an hour, Pike estimated.
Pike and Shipp were both found guilty of first-degree murder. She was sentenced to death, and he received a life sentence with the possibility of parole.
