Christa Pike's aunt says surviving the failed execution shows God wants her niece to live

The aunt of Christa Pike believes divine will is the reason her niece survived.

Carrie Ross, who helped raise Pike, said in a newspaper interview that she believes surviving last week's lethal-injection attempt proves the Almighty is in control now, not Tennessee officials.

"When God puts his hand on someone, God is in control," Ross said. "Not the Department of Correction, not us, but God."

What she wants next

Ross said Pike should not face another execution attempt. She noted that Pike went willingly last week and argued it would be inhumane to put her through it again.

Ross is not excusing the 1995 murder of 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer. In her view a fair outcome would be for the governor to commute the sentence to life behind bars with no chance of release.

Pike's condition

Gov. Bill Lee has paused every execution in the state while officials examine what went wrong. Pike has remained in critical condition with pneumonia and limited use of her arms, according to reports. Her legal team says she is talking again and that on waking Tuesday she wanted to know where she was and who was with her.

On Wednesday a judge directed the state to hold on to all evidence connected to the attempt.