Christa Pike says pain has continued since failed execution

Christa Pike, 50, said in a statement dictated to her legal team that she has experienced constant pain since surviving two doses of pentobarbital on September 30. The attempted execution was for the 1995 stabbing death of her 19-year-old classmate Colleen Slemmer.

Pike described pain throughout her body, including her arms, hands and throat, and said she still had difficulty speaking. She also described psychological suffering alongside the physical pain, saying the effects extended to her mind and soul.

Tennessee Governor Bill Lee ordered an outside investigation into the failed execution and said the state's remaining execution scheduled for this year would not proceed. State prison chief Frank Strada resigned, with October 31 set as his final day.

Pike's lawyers have asked Lee to reduce her sentence to life imprisonment. The governor told reporters this week that he expected her sentence to remain the same unless the courts determined otherwise.