Christa Pike, unconscious and attached to the artificial respirator

Christa Pike is unconscious and on a ventilator after the failed execution two days ago. The New York Times reports. The woman, who is 50 and was 18 when she was sentenced to death for the murder of a peer, is intubated in a Nashville hospital, her lawyers said in legal documents filed in court. Christa survived two doses of pentobarbital, the drug Tennessee uses in its lethal injection protocol. "Hospital staff are working to save her life and remove the pentobarbital from her system," the lawyers wrote. Meanwhile, Christian churches in Tennessee have made a new appeal to the authorities: the state's Catholic bishops, together with the bishops of the Anglican Communion and the Lutherans, have asked Governor Bill Lee to commute the woman's death sentence and prevent a new execution attempt. "We believe that every human being bears the image of God and therefore possesses a dignity that not even the gravest sin can erase. We believe in accountability, but we also believe in repentance, redemption, mercy, and the possibility of transformation," the Christian bishops write. "Nothing in our request diminishes the gravity of that crime," "however, accountability does not necessarily require another death," the representatives of the Christian churches emphasize. "We therefore respectfully ask you to exercise the authority vested in you," they ask the governor, "and to commute Christa Pike's death sentence to a penalty that protects the community while preserving her life. Such an act does not deny justice, but declares that justice need not turn into vengeance and that the State of Tennessee can choose moderation, human dignity, and mercy." In the US, according to recent polls, a majority of the population remains in favor of the death penalty, although support shows signs of erosion. According to a Gallup poll, support for the use of the executioner has fallen to 52%, the lowest level in fifty years, returning to the values recorded in 1972. The decline is driven mainly by the younger generations, Millennials and Gen Z, among whom support for the death penalty has decreased significantly. At the same time, opposition has grown: 44% of Americans say they are against the death penalty, the highest percentage recorded since 1966. All rights reserved © Copyright ANSA