Christa Pike, 50, released her first public statement after surviving two lethal injections of pentobarbital in September. "There hasn't been a moment since that night when I haven't been in pain," Pike said. "My body hurts. My arms hurt. My hands hurt. My throat hurts. I still struggle to speak."
Pike spent 30 years on death row for the 1995 murder of Colleen Slemmer. She remains the only person known to have survived an execution by lethal injection. Her lawyers said she suffered pneumonia after the attempt, significant arm swelling and difficulty swallowing.
Pike said she had not contemplated life beyond the execution date and expressed hurt "by the incompetence that has put so many people in this terrible position." She added that "healing is not the same as being okay."
Tennessee Governor Bill Lee paused all executions for the remainder of the year and ordered an independent review. When asked about a second execution attempt, Lee said "I suspect her sentence will be the same as before unless determined otherwise by the courts."
The Tennessee Department of Correction has not explained why the execution failed, though it defended the method used. Colleen Slemmer's mother, May Martinez, who attended the botched execution, said she thinks the state owes her an apology. "All I wanted was justice," Martinez told a local ABC News affiliate.
In May, Tennessee postponed the execution of Tony Carruthers after staff could not find a vein for lethal injection. He was granted a year's reprieve by the governor.