Inmate Describes Pain After Botched Execution Attempt
Christa Pike, facing execution in Alabama, details ongoing physical and mental suffering following a failed lethal injection.
US death row inmate Christa Pike has issued her first public statement since a lethal injection attempt in September left her in critical condition and in pain. Pike, 50, said she woke up "confused and in pain" after the execution was halted.
"There hasn't been a moment since that night when I haven't been in pain," Pike stated in a release from her legal team. "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 was discharged from the hospital at the end of last month. She survived two attempts with the drug pentobarbital during the execution process. The details of the botched execution and Pike's subsequent condition were not immediately clear, beyond her statement of pain and confusion.