AI Image
US execution survivor Christa Pike says she is now in ‘constant pain’
Al Jazeera • • general
Key Points:
- Christa Pike, who survived a botched execution in Tennessee, has spoken out for the first time, describing ongoing physical and emotional pain since the failed lethal injection on September 30.
- Pike was sentenced to death for the 1995 torture and murder of a 19-year-old classmate when she was 18, and despite the failed execution, she remains scheduled for death and is currently in solitary confinement.
- Her lawyers claim the lethal drug phenobarbital did not enter her bloodstream properly, causing burns and blisters in her arms, and have requested a federal judge to allow her social interaction to alleviate psychological harm.
- Pike’s legal team has also petitioned Tennessee Governor Bill Lee to commute her sentence to life imprisonment, but the governor has indicated the sentence will likely stand unless courts decide otherwise.
- The incident has prompted Tennessee to launch an independent review of its execution procedures and postpone other scheduled lethal injections, drawing attention to the prevalence of botched executions in the US.
