On Wednesday, Christa Pike was scheduled to be executed. But after receiving two lethal injections, the execution failed and Christa was rushed to the hospital. New details are now emerging about the words that were meant to be her very last.
In 1996, a court sentenced Christa Pike to death for the torture and murder of 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer. On Wednesday, the now 50-year-old Christa was set to be executed by lethal injection. But despite receiving two lethal injections, she survived the execution and was taken to hospital.
Her condition remains unclear. While awaiting further updates, her lawyers are demanding an immediate halt to the carrying out of the sentence. They also believe that Christa has been subjected to unnecessary distress.
Ahead of her execution, Pike had written a letter to the world.
“I am not afraid to die. I’m only nervous about the process.”
Christa Pike’s last words before the failed execution
More details are now also emerging about the failed execution. Before Christa was injected, she spoke a few words that she believed would be her very last in life.
“I’m going to leave this world the way I spent most of my life,” she said according to the site Nashville Banner, “and that is with love.”
Pike also reportedly said that she loved her critics just as much as those close to her. In a final statement, Christa said she was ready to die.
“I’m at peace, I’m ready to be free. This is a happy day,” were her very last words before the lethal injection.
Also present at the execution was her spiritual advisor, Rev. Mikey Noechel. They also recited a final prayer together: “May you be at peace. May you be kind and gentle to yourself.”
She directed the same message to the media reporters, “the people behind the glass.” According to the site, several witnesses present were surprised by Pike’s attitude before the execution.
Christa Pike suffered pain
Pike and her spiritual advisor reportedly sang a song, and witnesses described the proceedings as “strange from the very beginning.” After receiving the lethal injection, however, Christa complained of pain in her arm.
“Does it happen like that?”, she asked her spiritual advisor.
“Relax,” he told her.
“I’m trying,” she said. She smiled and laughed, and a tear rolled down her right cheek.
40 minutes after Christa Pike received the lethal injection, her heart continued to beat. She also reportedly began snoring in the room. Had the execution succeeded, the 50-year-old Christa Pike would have become the first woman to be executed in the state of Tennessee in 200 years.
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