Christa Pike remains unconscious and on a ventilator more than 24 hours after Tennessee officials failed to carry out her execution, according to court documents filed by her attorneys.

Pike, 50, survived an attempted lethal injection on September 30 after prison staff reportedly struggled to establish an IV line. Her lawyers said she received two full doses of pentobarbital before being taken to a hospital for emergency treatment.

A legal filing submitted Friday described Pike as “critically ill,” saying she was intubated, on a ventilator and still unconscious.

Her attorneys are now asking a judge to preserve evidence related to what they described as allegedly “incompetent and reckless actions” by the Tennessee Department of Correction during the failed execution.

According to the filing, medical staff made multiple attempts to find a usable vein. Pike’s lawyer Randy Spivey said he counted at least seven needles being used in her left arm, with one appearing to have been bent after an unsuccessful attempt.

Her arms were reportedly left swollen and blistered following the attempts.

Pike was conscious during parts of the procedure and could reportedly be heard crying, whimpering and breathing heavily. At one point, she said her arm felt like it was “about to burst open” and asked prison staff whether that was normal.

Her attorney Stephen Ferrell said Pike remained cooperative throughout the ordeal and even tried to help the medical team find a suitable location for the IV.

“She over and over again said, ‘Please, try up on my shoulder higher. Please, try here,’” Ferrell said, adding that she thanked staff when they believed they had successfully established access.

Pike’s lawyers had warned officials before the execution that she had small veins and a blood condition that could make an IV more difficult to place. She had requested a firing squad or hanging instead, but Tennessee did not approve either option.

Her legal team also requested that an outside physician and an ICU ambulance be available in case she needed emergency care. They later said those concerns were dismissed.

The failed execution has also raised questions about Pike’s long-term health. Dr. Joel Zivot, a professor at Emory University School of Medicine who has worked on Pike’s case, told the BBC that the delay in resuscitation could potentially result in brain injury.

Ferrell said Pike’s attorneys still do not know how much oxygen deprivation she may have experienced or what lasting effects it could have.

“It’s such an unknown,” he said. “What was conscious, what will be remembered, what damage may have occurred to her brain from oxygen deprivation.”

Pike had spent three decades on death row after being convicted of killing her college classmate, Colleen Slemmer, in 1995.

She was scheduled to become the first woman executed by Tennessee in more than 200 years. Instead, the failed procedure has prompted a review of the state’s execution process.

Gov. Bill Lee has paused the remaining executions scheduled in Tennessee for 2026 while officials review what happened.

It is also unclear whether Pike could ever face another execution attempt. Zivot said that could depend on whether her health eventually improves enough for another execution to be considered.

For now, Pike remains hospitalized in critical condition as her lawyers seek answers about what happened inside the death chamber.