Christa Pike reports ongoing pain after surviving Tennessee lethal injection

Christa Pike is still in pain three weeks after surviving a lethal injection in Tennessee.

In her first public statement since the failed execution, Pike said she remains in constant physical and mental distress. She is currently held in a prison hospital where she has been largely isolated.

Pike, 50, stated that her body, arms, hands, and throat hurt continuously. She added that she still struggles to speak and is searching for meaning in her survival. The statement was dictated to her legal team while she was in custody.

The execution team administered two doses of pentobarbital to Pike on a Friday evening last month. Her lawyers contend that the drug likely did not enter her bloodstream correctly and instead pooled in her arms. This error caused burns and blisters on her arms. Pike was unconscious and placed on a ventilator for several days following the procedure.

During the process, Pike was awake for much of the time. She reported that her arm hurt and burned before she lost consciousness. The execution began just before 7:30 p.m. An ambulance arrived at the prison approximately an hour and 45 minutes later.

Pike was sentenced to death in 1995 for the torture and stabbing of Colleen Slemmer, a 19-year-old classmate. Pike was 18 years old at the time of the crime. Slemmer’s mother traveled from Florida to witness the execution.

Her legal team is petitioning Tennessee Governor Bill Lee to commute Pike’s sentence to life in prison. Lee told reporters this week that he suspects her sentence will remain the same unless the courts decide otherwise. He has appointed a former U.S. attorney to conduct an independent review of the execution.

The governor also postponed the state’s other scheduled lethal injection for this year. Frank Strada, the commissioner of the Department of Correction, announced his resignation following the incident. His final day of work is October 31.

Court documents released this week include a 2025 deposition from prison Warden Kenneth Nelson. Nelson stated that the execution team does not practice inserting IV lines during training sessions. He said this was done at the directive of the prison commissioner, though he did not know why the practice was discontinued.

Pike’s attorneys had warned prior to the execution that her small veins and a diagnosis of thrombocytosis could make IV access difficult. In a court filing, her attorney Randy Spivey noted that the execution team struggled to establish working lines and expressed concern that a vein might be blowing. Dorinda Carter, a spokesperson for the Department of Correction, said she could not comment on the filings due to pending litigation.