Christa Pike’s first statement since botched execution describes lasting pain

Pike describes lasting pain

In a statement dictated to her lawyers and released Friday, Pike said pain has continued since she woke in a hospital. She described physical suffering and difficulty speaking, as well as distress affecting her mind and soul.

Pike said she does not know why she survived or what will happen next. She added that she is trying to recover gradually and has drawn strength from messages of support and prayers from people she knows and strangers.

Failed execution in Tennessee

Pike was given two doses of a lethal injection drug, and her legal team confirmed she was alive after the procedure. A media attendee said Pike could be heard snoring loudly about an hour after it began; she was later taken by ambulance to a nearby hospital.

Case leaves next steps uncertain

Pike was convicted in 1995 of murdering her classmate, Colleen Slemmer, who was 19. Court filings say Pike, then 18, tortured and killed Slemmer on the University of Tennessee campus with help from her boyfriend and a friend.

Gov. Bill Lee has paused executions in Tennessee through the end of the year, but Pike’s next steps remain unclear. Her lawyers secured a court order to preserve evidence on Oct. 7; a follow-up hearing set for Oct. 23 was canceled while the judge considers motions.

Calls for clemency and public views

Pike’s lawyer, Steve Ferrell, urged Lee to commute her sentence in an interview with “CBS Mornings” days after the failed execution. A Reuters/Ipsos poll earlier this month found that one-third of Americans support another attempt to execute Pike.