Christa Pike speaks out in 1st public statement after failed execution: 'I don't know why I survived'

Christa Pike is speaking out publicly for the first time since she survived an execution attempt by the state of Tennessee on Sept. 30.

"There hasn't been a moment since that night when I haven't been in pain," Pike said in her first public statement since the execution attempt, which her legal team shared Friday. "My body hurts. My arms hurt. My hands hurt. My throat hurts. I still struggle to speak. And the pain isn't just physical. There is pain in my mind and in my soul."

Pike, 50, was sentenced to death in 1996 for the murder of her classmate, Colleen Slemmer, and spent 30 years on death row. Two doses of the lethal injection drug pentobarbital failed to kill her during the state's execution attempt last month. She was taken to the hospital, where she received lifesaving care.

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

Slemmer's mother, May Martinez, described the situation as a "mess" and said she was left without justice.

"I'm deeply hurt by the incompetence that has put so many people in this terrible position," Pike said. "I continue to think about my victim's family and the terrible pain and loss they have endured."

Pike's legal team described the outcome as "unprecedented" and said it has raised questions about what happens next in her case.

"I don't know why I survived that night," Pike added. "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. And I am holding on to the love and kindness of so many people who have reminded me that I am not alone."

Advertisement
Advertisement

Pike's survival has brought intense scrutiny to Tennessee's execution procedures. Gov. Bill Lee suspended the one remaining execution scheduled for this year, and the state's top prison official, Correction Commissioner Frank Strada, is stepping down at the end of October.

Pike's lawyers said the resignation was "justified, but it does nothing to help Christa now. They said the botched execution "reflects a systemic failure that goes far beyond any one person," they said in a statement issued earlier this month, according to ABC News.

Pike has been held at the Debra K. Johnson Rehabilitation Center since Oct. 10, where she has been behind bars for more than 30 years. She continues to receive medical care in the prison's infirmary.

"I am recovering, and I know that I am getting stronger," her statement read. "But healing is not the same as being okay."

What was Christa Pike's condition after the botched execution?

When Pike arrived at the hospital, her arms were "swollen, burned and blistered," her lawyers wrote in a legal filing on Oct. 2. Her lawyers believe the IV lines were placed incorrectly or her veins burst, so that some or all of the drug went into the tissue of her arms instead of her bloodstream.

Advertisement
Advertisement

Her condition was so severe in the following days, after the execution attempt, that it was believed that she may be brain-dead and could be removed from life support the following day, Randy Spivey, one of her attorneys, said during a press conference on Oct. 7.

"On Tuesday, to the shock of everyone … Christa woke up and began talking," he said.

Spivey added that Pike is feeling "angry and confused" after waking up in the hospital and is still dealing with major physical problems from the failed execution, including a blood clot, pneumonia and swelling that has left her unable to use both of her arms.

"Her recovery is medically unprecedented. Her prognosis remains unclear but, at a minimum, we expect a long recovery," her legal team wrote in a court filing on Oct. 6.

Advertisement
Advertisement

Dr. Joel Zivot, a medical expert who has consulted with Pike's legal team, told the Associated Press that the latest update "bodes well for a good recovery," but said that the full picture of her long-term health will not be clear for some time.

"She has recovered to a certain degree that she's able to be off a ventilator and able to speak, but in no way would I announce her free of further serious risk," he said. "There's still a lot of bad things that can happen here."

Deborah Denno, a criminologist and professor at Fordham Law School, told the BBC that she was "absolutely astonished" that Pike was conscious and speaking. "They did everything they were supposed to do as part of the execution process, and it simply didn't work," she said. "This has never happened before."

Dr. Zivot told the BBC that her survival was "unusual," adding, "Most people who get lethal injection die from it. In fact, pretty well everyone, except Christa."

Advertisement
Advertisement

Seattle University Law Professor Michael Russo told the Associated Press, "There's nobody else in the history of the death penalty in this country who has gone through what she's been through."

The incident with Pike comes a handful of months after the botched attempt to execute Tony Carruthers. In May, Tennessee stopped the execution of Carruthers after staff placed an IV into his right arm, but were unable to insert a secondary IV line.

What happens next?

All executions in Tennessee are paused for now. Pike's lawyers have called for her sentence to be commuted. State officials have not said whether they will try to execute Pike again, and Gov. Lee has not indicated that he plans to intervene in Pike's case.

Lee had denied Pike's clemency before the execution attempt.

Advertisement
Advertisement

"I think at the very least the governor should commute Ms. Pike's death sentence to a life sentence," attorney Stephen Ferrell told CNN's State of the Union earlier this month. "We don't know what her physical state will be, but it is clear that she has endured a torturous attempt at executing her."

Dr. Zivot said it remains unclear how much pentobarbital entered Pike's system, how much remained in her blood after the injection and what effects she could still experience as she recovers. "I would not, in any way, say at this point that all the big risks are behind her," he said.

Professor Russo doubted whether the Supreme Court would stop the state from trying again on double jeopardy grounds — the constitutional protection against being tried or punished twice for the same offense — should it decide to do so.

He said, "I think what this Supreme Court would say is, her sentence was to die — to be executed — not to suffer an attempt at execution."

Advertisement
Advertisement

"We're in uncharted territory," Robin Maher, executive director of the nonprofit Death Penalty Information Center, told USA Today. "The U.S. Supreme Court has not decided whether a second execution attempt would violate the Constitution since 1947. These are questions that have never needed to be asked before, and no one knows the answers."

• About Our Ads