Christa Pike may never fully recover from her botched execution and remains critically ill in hospital under guard, according to her lawyer.
Stephen Ferrell said on CNN that Ms Pike was still on a ventilator after surviving an attempt to execute her in Tennessee. Doctors were continuing to try to clear the lethal pentobarbital from her body.
Mr Ferrell said he had not seen his client and did not know who else had been allowed to visit her.
“She is guarded. I’m not sure who may have seen her. I know I have not seen her,” he said.
The state of Tennessee has not said whether it will ultimately try to execute Ms Pike again.
Mr Ferrell said her long-term prognosis remained uncertain and that she might not make a full recovery even if officials decided against another execution.
“I think one of the main things that will leave this up in the air for a while is the fact that we don’t know what the prognosis is, as in the long term prognosis,” he said.
Ms Pike survived two lethal injections. Witnesses said she indicated she was experiencing severe pain in her arm before losing consciousness and beginning to snore.
Her lawyer said doctors were baffled by her survival, as far as he knew, while they continued treating her in hospital.
