An American death row inmate who survived two rounds of lethal injection drugs has released her first official statement, saying, "When I woke up, there was only terrible pain and confusion."
In a statement released through her attorneys, Christa Pike, a death row inmate in Tennessee, said, "I entered the execution chamber ready to die, and I had found peace of mind," but added, "A few days later, I woke up in the emergency room, and now I suffer pain not only in my body, but also in my mind and soul."
She stated, "I have never thought about life after my execution date," and added, "I keep thinking about the terrible pain and loss that the victim's family suffered."
Pike was sentenced to death the following year after being convicted of murdering 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer in 1995 at the age of 18, along with her boyfriend and others.
Having served about 30 years in prison, Pike survived after being administered pentobarbital, a lethal injection drug, twice at a prison in Nashville, Tennessee, on September 30, and was subsequently transferred to a hospital.
She regained consciousness on October 6, about a week later, and showed symptoms of "extravasation," which occurs when drugs leak into tissue outside the blood vessels, such as her arm turning purple.
Although Pike returned to prison after hospital treatment, she is reportedly staying isolated in the medical ward, and has said that "such isolation causes another kind of pain."
Pike's legal team has petitioned the court for a commutation to life imprisonment and for permission to interact with other inmates.
The Tennessee governor has suspended executions until the end of this year and ordered an independent investigation into the botched execution, but rejected the attorneys' request for commutation.
Rescheduling the execution for Pike remains unclear at this point.
While her legal team has stated that they will fight against any attempts at re-execution, Pike herself said, "I don't know why I survived that night, nor do I know what will happen next."
(Reported by Park Hyeon-seok | Video by Na Hong-hee | Graphics by Lee Jung-joo | Produced by SBS Digital News)
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