Four days after attempted execution: Christa Pike still unconscious

Four days after a failed execution attempt in Tennessee, Christa Pike remains unconscious and on a ventilator. Her attorney said her condition may not become clear for days. Governor of Tennessee ordered an independent investigation into the state's execution system, and the commissioner of the Department of Corrections resigned.

Four days after a failed execution attempt in Tennessee, Christa Pike remains unconscious and on a ventilator in a hospital. Her attorney, federal public defender Steven Perl, said her condition and chances of recovery may not become clear for several more days. Since the execution attempt on Wednesday night, Pike has been hospitalized under guard as doctors try to remove a large dose of the anesthetic pentobarbital from her body. Prison officials administered two doses of the drug to Pike, which did not cause her death but caused burns and blisters on her arms. Tennessee Governor Bill Lee ordered an independent investigation into the state's death penalty system, to be conducted by former federal prosecutor Ed Stanton. Commissioner of the Department of Corrections, Frank Strada, announced his resignation. Pike's future in the death penalty process is unclear; her attorneys have asked the governor to commute her sentence to life imprisonment. This is the second case this year in which Tennessee failed to execute a prisoner.