Christa Pike says she woke up confused in hospital after surviving execution

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 said.Pike survived two doses of pentobarbital during her scheduled execution for the 1995 murder of 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer.Her lawyers said the failed procedure left her arms burned and blistered.

She was initially unconscious and required a ventilator while hospitalised.“I’m deeply hurt by the incompetence that has put so many people in this terrible position,” Pike said.Tennessee Governor Bill Lee has ordered an investigation into the failed execution and postponed another scheduled lethal injection.

The state's prison chief has since resigned.Pike's lawyers are seeking to have her death sentence reduced to life imprisonment.Pike, who has returned to prison, said she was grateful to the medical workers who saved her life and was now focusing on recovery.

Christa Pike says she woke up confused in hospital after surviving execution October 30, 2026.