Krista Pike, 50, a death row inmate in Tennessee, said in a statement released through her legal team on Friday (local time) that "there has not been a single moment since I woke up that I have been without pain." [Reuters]
Krista Pike, 50, a death row inmate in Tennessee, said in a statement released through her legal team on Friday (local time) that "there has not been a single moment since I woke up that I have been without pain." [Reuters]

A woman on death row in the United States who survived two doses of lethal injection drugs has spoken publicly for the first time in a month. As her legal team fights to block a second execution attempt, debate is intensifying across the country over alternative methods of capital punishment — including the electric chair, firing squad and nitrogen gas.

According to the Washington Post, CBS News and other outlets, Krista Pike, 50, a death row inmate in Tennessee, said in a statement released through her legal team on Friday (local time) that "there has not been a single moment since I woke up that I have been without pain."

Pike was administered lethal injection drugs at a Nashville prison on Sept. 30. Pike said she had been prepared to die, but regained consciousness alone in a hospital several days later.

Pike said she continues to experience pain in her body, arms, hands and throat, and still struggles to speak. Pike said she is suffering not only physically but also mentally.

Pike was sentenced to death in 1996 after being convicted of murdering 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer alongside her boyfriend and others in 1995, when Pike was 18. In the statement, Pike said she continues to think about the pain and loss suffered by the victim's family.

After nearly 30 years on death row, Pike received two doses of the lethal injection drug pentobarbital on Sept. 30 but did not die. The execution was ultimately halted and Pike was transferred to a hospital for emergency treatment.

The execution itself was also reported to have been troubled. The execution team inserted a needle approximately 10 times over about an hour in an attempt to secure a vein. Pike reportedly cried out in pain during the process, saying her arm felt as though it would burst.

Pike regained consciousness on Oct. 6 and was discharged from the hospital on Oct. 10, returning to prison. Her legal team said the ordeal left serious injuries to her arm, including swelling and blisters.

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee suspended all remaining executions scheduled for this year following the failed attempt and ordered an independent investigation.

Lee said Wednesday that Pike's death sentence would remain in place unless a court ruled otherwise.

Pike's legal team is arguing that the physical and psychological suffering Pike has already endured warrants commuting the sentence to life without parole. The team said it would pursue legal action if the state moves forward with another execution attempt.

According to the Death Penalty Information Center, Pike is believed to be the first person to survive after actually receiving lethal injection drugs during an execution.

The case has reignited debate in the United States over alternative execution methods to replace lethal injection.

Under Tennessee law, lethal injection is the default method of execution, but inmates who committed their crimes before Jan. 1, 1999, may choose the electric chair. The electric chair may also be used as an alternative if corrections authorities officially determine that lethal injection cannot be carried out despite reasonable efforts.

Pike, whose crime was committed in 1995, is legally eligible to choose the electric chair. However, it remains unclear whether Pike will opt for that method.

Some Tennessee lawmakers have called for expanding the range of available execution methods.

Republican Sen. Marsha Blackburn said the entire execution process — including lethal injection and the electric chair — should be comprehensively reviewed, according to the Associated Press. Tennessee House Speaker Cameron Sexton also indicated that other methods, such as the firing squad and gas, could be considered.

However, execution by firing squad or nitrogen gas is not currently a standard legal method in Tennessee. Introducing either would require separate legislation and additional procedures.

Expanding the range of execution methods would not, however, resolve the broader debate over cruel punishment.

The Eighth Amendment to the US Constitution prohibits cruel and unusual punishment. Legal challenges over the degree of suffering involved — and the constitutional legitimacy — of not only lethal injection but also the electric chair, firing squad and nitrogen gas continue to play out in courts.


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