'I'm deeply hurt by the incompetence': Christa Pike releases statement after botched execution

Christa Pike, who survived an execution by lethal injection in the US, has spoken publicly for the first time since the incident a month ago and said she is in constant physical and mental pain.

Pike, a convicted murderer on death row for three decades, was supposed to be put to death in Tennessee on 30 September but survived two botched attempts.

The 50-year-old American was given two doses of pentobarbital, a lethal drug used by the US state in executions.

She was taken to hospital in a critical condition and placed on a ventilator, later regaining consciousness.

In a statement dictated to her legal team, Pike said she walked into the execution chamber at Riverbend men's prison "prepared to die", but days later woke up in a hospital "confused and in pain".

"There hasn't been a moment since that night when I haven't been in pain," she said.

"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.

"I had not contemplated life beyond that night, and I'm deeply hurt by the incompetence that has put so many people in this terrible position. I continue to think about my victim's family and the terrible pain and loss they have endured."

Her lawyers previously said her recovery was "against all odds" and "medically unprecedented".

On Friday, Pike said she was "getting stronger", but "healing is not the same as being okay".

She said she was "searching for meaning in what happened to me", and praised the medics, her legal team and "everyone who has fought for me, stood beside me and refused to give up on me".

"I don't know why I survived that night," she said.

"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."

Pike and her boyfriend, Tadaryl Shipp, were convicted of torturing and killing Colleen Slemmer, a 19-year-old classmate of theirs, at a job training facility in the city of Knoxville in 1995.

Shipp, who was 17 when the crime was committed, received a life sentence with the possibility of ​parole.

Pike, who was 18 at the time, does not deny the killing, but her supporters have argued the state should consider her age at the time, mental illness and a history of severe sexual abuse, including rape, beginning when she was a child.

Following the killing, Pike was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder, her lawyers said.

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She was set to be the first woman to be executed in Tennessee for more than 200 years.

It was the second failed execution in the state this year.

Authorities have not yet said whether they will try to execute Pike again.

Tennessee governor Bill Lee has ordered an investigation into what happened during the failed execution and suspended all remaining scheduled executions this year.

(c) Sky News 2026: 'I'm deeply hurt by the incompetence': Christa Pike releases statement after botched execution