Christa Pike could still be executed after surviving two botched attempts if she recovers and is able to understand the punishment, experts revealed.
The convicted murderer, 50, was set to become the first woman put to death in Tennessee for over 200 years Wednesday, but survived the lethal injections administered to her and is now being given lifesaving care in the hospital while remaining unconscious and in critical condition.
“She can’t be executed if she is brain injured and doesn’t understand the proceedings,” Professor Deborah Denno of the Fordham School of Law told The Post.
“The United States Supreme Court recognized in a case involving a dementia patient in 2019 that you can’t execute someone who’s not aware of the punishment that they’re going to receive.”
But Denno explained that if Pike survives and is found to be mentally competent, she could have a “strong argument” for double jeopardy — which means that convicts cannot be punished twice for the same crime.
That could lead to a recommendation that she serve life in prison rather than face the death penalty for the brutal murder of her 19-year-old classmate Colleen Slemmer in a jealous rage in Jan. 1995, Denno said.
Pike’s lawyers have called on Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee –- who halted state executions and ordered an independent review after this week’s fiasco –– to commute her sentence.
“I doubt whether that would happen in this case, because of the nature of the crime, and because the governor seems extremely responsive to the victim’s family,” Michael Meltsner, Emeritus Professor at Northeastern University School of Law, said.
“For instance, the governor could commute her sentence to 30 years in jail, but that’s unlikely to happen here.”
Here’s the latest on the botched execution of Tennessee murderer Christa Pike:
Before her bungled execution attempt, Pike claimed that she had a “history of difficulty with blood draws and needle insertion,” according to a motion filed by her attorneys.
She even proposed hanging as an alternative method of execution due to her concerns over Tennessee’s lethal injection protocol, but the request was rejected.
Under Tennessee law, lethal injection is the primary form of capital punishment — with inmates whose crimes were committed before January 1, 1999 being given the choice of the electric chair instead.
Pike rejected the electric chair as an alternative method because of her Buddhist beliefs.
Denno said that, should she face execution again, Pike’s lawyers could push again for an alternative method to be used.
“She could be executed using a different method of execution, and she has a very good argument that lethal injection, in her case and with her particular medical situation, simply doesn’t work.
“However, the state could reject all her arguments and just set a new execution date using lethal injection again.”
In a statement to The Post Friday, Pike’s lawyers revealed that “Christa remains hospitalized” and “is critically ill, unconscious, intubated and receiving breathing assistance through a ventilator.”
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