Christa Pike, who survived a failed execution, describes her pain in first public statement

Christa Pike, a 50-year-old woman who survived a failed lethal injection in the US state of Tennessee last month, has made her first public statement since the attempt. Released by her attorneys on Friday, 30 October, it matters because her future is unresolved: her lawyers want the death sentence reduced to life in prison, while the state's governor has indicated he does not expect that to happen.

Pain and recovery

Pike dictated the statement to her legal team from the infirmary at the Debra K. Johnson Rehabilitation Center, where she is being held. She says there has not been a moment without pain since that night: her body, arms, hands and throat hurt, and she still struggles to speak. The pain, she says, is not only physical but also in her mind and soul.

Pike says she went into the execution chamber prepared to die peacefully, then woke up alone and confused in a hospital bed. She had never imagined living past her scheduled execution date. She says she does not know why she survived or what comes next, but is trying to heal one day at a time and holding on to the kindness of many people who have told her she is not alone.

She also criticised the handling of the attempt, saying she is deeply hurt by the incompetence that put so many people in a terrible position. At the same time, she expressed sympathy for her victim's family and the pain and loss they have endured.

The governor's position

Pike's lawyers have urged Tennessee Governor Bill Lee to commute her death sentence to life imprisonment. Lee told reporters this week that he expects her sentence to remain as it was unless the courts decide otherwise. The governor has ordered an investigation into the failed execution and postponed the state's other lethal injection scheduled for this year. Pike was first hospitalised after the attempt and later transferred back to prison.