Tennessee death row killer Christa Pike says she is in constant pain and blames 'incompetence' for her botched execution

Christa Pike, 50, the only person believed to have survived execution by lethal injection, has issued her first statement a month after Tennessee's botched attempt on 30 September, revealing she woke days later in hospital "confused and in pain" with no memory of the chamber. Her arms were severely burned and blistered after faulty IV lines caused two full doses of pentobarbital to flood tissue rather than enter her bloodstream, leaving her critically ill with pneumonia and unable to swallow.

Pike says she walked into the Riverbend chamber 'prepared to die' — she had 'not contemplated life beyond that night'.

The all-female execution team used at least seven needles over two hours; one needle was bent 90 degrees when removed, lawyers said.

Slemmer's mother May Martinez, who watched the botched procedure, says the state owes her an apology: 'All I wanted was justice.'