Christa Pike describes constant pain after surviving failed Tennessee execution

Christa Pike was sentenced to death for torturing and killing her classmate Colleen Slemmer in 1995, when Pike was 18, according to Euronews. Slemmer was 19, Global News reported.

On September 30, Tennessee attempted to execute Pike by lethal injection. She survived two doses of pentobarbital, according to Euronews. A month later, her first public account described continuing physical and psychological suffering.

Pike said she woke in a hospital alone and confused days after the failed execution, according to DIE WELT. Her account describes distress that continued beyond the procedure itself.

On October 30, Pike released her first public statement since the attempt. "There hasn't been a moment since that night when I haven't been in pain," she said, according to CNA.

She also described difficulty speaking and blamed "incompetence" for the failure, the Indian Express reported. Her statement distinguished recovery from feeling well: "Healing is not the same thing as being well," according to Adnkronos.

Pike expressed gratitude for the love and support she had received, according to KYTV. CBC News reported that she said she was continuing to get stronger despite the pain.

On October 31, TMZ reported that Dr. Mark Fowler, who oversaw the failed execution, denied being incompetent. Coverage differs on the execution date: the New York Post gives September 20, while Euronews and Global News place it on September 30.

Pike is recovering in isolation in the infirmary at the Debra K. Johnson Rehabilitation Center, where she has been held for decades, according to CBS. Her reported improvement has not ended her complaints of constant pain.

Her lawyers want her death sentence reduced to life, and the state governor has ordered an investigation, Deutsche Welle reported. Separately, Pike has asked a federal judge to end her solitary confinement, according to court documents described by TMZ.

The investigation's findings, the request to reduce Pike's sentence and her challenge to isolation are the next issues to follow. The Indian Express described the review as independent, but the supplied coverage gives no timetable for its findings or for decisions on her requests.