US death row inmate Christa Pike has been discharged from hospital and returned to the prison where she has spent the last 30 years, ten days after a botched execution attempt. Pike, 50, survived two lethal injections of the drug pentobarbital on September 30, which left her in critical condition.

Her case has entered unprecedented territory, as she is believed to be the only person to have survived an execution attempt by lethal injection. Pike had lost consciousness following the procedure and was taken to a local hospital, where she remained in critical condition. She regained consciousness earlier this week and began speaking, astonishing medical staff and her legal team.

According to a statement from her lawyers on Saturday, Pike is continuing to receive medical care at the prison. Her legal team had previously expressed concerns about her recovery, stating she faced a long road ahead. Pike was grateful to the first responders and her medical team for their care during these extraordinary circumstances, her lawyers said.

It remains unclear whether the state of Tennessee intends to attempt another execution. At a court hearing on Wednesday, Tennessee Assistant Attorney General Will Ayers informed the judge that the state's intentions were unknown. The judge subsequently ordered the state to preserve all evidence related to the failed injections, which could potentially be used in future legal challenges.

Pike was convicted of the 1995 murder of 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer. Pike, who was 18 at the time, along with her then-boyfriend Tadaryl Shipp, beat, tortured, and killed Slemmer. Shipp, who was not legally an adult when the crime occurred, was spared the death penalty and remains in prison.

Pike was the first woman scheduled for execution in Tennessee in over two centuries. Her lawyers have pursued appeals for decades. Both the U.S. Supreme Court and Tennessee Governor Bill Lee declined to halt the execution prior to the attempt.

Since the execution failed, Pike's lawyers have intensified their efforts to have her sentence commuted to life in prison without parole. Her legal team had initially feared she was brain dead and expected her life support to be withdrawn.

At a press conference on Wednesday, her lawyers detailed her condition, stating she was shackled to the bed and suffering from pneumonia and significant swelling in her arms, in addition to an inability to swallow.