Woman convicted of torturing and killing victim says she’s in constant pain after botched execution

In her first public statement since her botched execution, Christa Pike said she’s experienced constant pain since she woke up in a hospital bed surprised to still be alive. Pike’s statement on Friday was dictated to her legal team from the infirmary at the prison where she is housed, the Associated Press reported. 
In 1995, Pike and her boyfriend, Tadaryl Shipp, were convicted of killing 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer, who was a classmate at a job training facility in Knoxville. The case drew national attention in part because of a pentagram that was carved into Slemmer’s body. This was during the “satanic panic” of the 1980s and 1990s. 
Pike, 50, survived two doses of pentobarbital on Sept. 30. She said that she is “deeply hurt by the incompetence” that led to her surviving what should have been a lethal injection. 
“I continue to think about my victim’s family and the terrible pain and loss they have endured,” she said. 
In addition to being in constant pain, Pike said that she struggles to speak. 
“And the pain isn’t just physical. There is pain in my mind and in my soul,” Pike said.
Pike doesn’t deny she committed the killing, and Shipp has admitted he carved a pentagram into Slemmer’s body. Shipp was 17 when the crime was committed, which made him ineligible for the death penalty. He was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. 

Read Full Article: https://justthenews.com/nation/crime/woman-convicted-torturing-and-killing-victim-says-shes-constant-pain-after-botched?utm_source=justthenews.com&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=external-news-aggregators