Christa Pike says she's in 'constant pain' since surviving execution attempt
Convicted murderer Christa Pike says while she continues to get stronger, she has been in pain since surviving a botched execution in Tennessee last month.
Pike survived 2 doses of pentobarbital as the state tried to execute her on Sept. 30
Mark Gollom · CBC News
·
Listen to this article
Estimated 3 minutes
The audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology. Mispronunciations can occur. We are working with our partners to continually review and improve the results.
Convicted murderer Christa Pike says while she continues to get stronger, she has been in pain since surviving a botched execution in Tennessee last month.
"My body hurts. My arms hurt. My hands hurt. My throat hurts," said Pike in a statement that was dictated to her legal team and released Friday.
"I still struggle to speak. And the pain isn't just physical. There is pain in my mind and in my soul."
Pike survived two doses of the drug pentobarbital as the state tried to execute her on Sept. 30 for the 1995 stabbing death of classmate Colleen Slemmer. Pike was 18 when she tortured and killed Slemmer with her boyfriend, becoming one of the youngest women to be sentenced to death in the U.S.
The slaying involved the perpetrators carving the shape of a pentagram in the victim's chest and taking a chunk of her skull as a souvenir.
The execution attempt initially left Pike unconscious and on a ventilator, with severe arm injuries. She was hospitalized but has since returned to the prison where she was serving her sentence.
Pike is the first person known to have survived being injected with a full lethal dose of execution drugs.
"I am recovering, and I know that I am getting stronger. But healing is not the same as being OK," she said.
"There hasn't been a moment since that night when I haven't been in pain," Pike said.
In her statement, Pike said she had walked into the execution chamber "prepared to die" and had "made my peace."
"I had also told the people in the room and who were there to witness my execution that I was leaving them in loving kindness."
Instead, she said, she woke up several days later "alone in a hospital confused and in pain."
"I had not contemplated life beyond that night, and I’m deeply hurt by the incompetence that has put so many people in this terrible position."
Pike said she has received "extraordinary love and support" from people around the world.
"To know that so many people care about me, that they see me as a human being whose life matters, is something I cannot fully put into words. It is humbling, and it has touched me more deeply than I can explain."
'Don't know why I survived'
Pike also thanked the first responders, doctors, nurses and hospital staff who cared for her.
"I don't know why I survived that night. I don't know what comes next. Some days, finding hope is harder than others. For now, I am trying to heal, one day at a time."
Pike's attorneys have urged Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee to reduce Pike's sentence to life imprisonment. Lee told reporters earlier this week that, "I suspect her sentence will be the same as before unless determined otherwise by the courts."
Following the unsuccessful execution attempt, Lee halted further executions for the remainder of the year and ordered a comprehensive third-party review to determine exactly what occurred.
Meanwhile, a Tennessee judge has ordered that all evidence from the attempted execution be preserved so a full investigation can take place.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Mark Gollom is a Toronto-based reporter with CBC News. He covers Canadian and U.S. politics and current affairs.
KioskNews shows a cleaned-up reading view extracted from the publisher’s page — the original always lives on their site, not ours.