These were Christa Pike's final words before her failed execution
The final words of Christa Pike before Tennessee officials attempted—and failed—to execute her by lethal injection have been shared by media witnesses.
Pike, 50, was set to be executed on Sept. 30 for a murder she committed in 1995, when she was just 18. She would have been the first woman executed in Tennessee in over 200 years. After two doses of lethal injection drugs, however, the execution attempt failed. She's now in critical condition and is receiving life-saving medical care at a hospital.
Media witnesses recalled what happened when officials attempted to put her to death in a press conference.
In a clip posted by CNN International on Instagram, Roane County News reporter Damon Lawrence said that when Pike was asked if she had any last words, she replied, "I do," and then said, "I just want to say that I’m going to leave this world the way I spent most of my life, and that is with love."
"She said she loved the people who were angry with her just as much as she loved the people who are on her side," Lawrence recalled.
Pike also said she was "at peace" and "ready to go," according to Lawrence.
The execution chamber opened at 7:26 p.m. Eight minutes later, Pike was heard saying that her arm felt like it was "about to burst open," per WKRN-TV reporter and anchor Tori Gessner, as reported by NBC News. "Does this happen like that?" Gessner quoted Pike as saying.
At 8:00 p.m., another dose of the drug was administered before the chamber closed.
Gessner said that they could still hear Pike snoring, "inconsistently going in and out of snores and silence," until 8:53 p.m., before they left.
Capital punishment has been halted for the rest of 2026 after the botched execution.
Pike was 18 when she and her boyfriend beat and killed Colleen Slemmer, 19, at a job training camp for young people.
The killing gained national attention after Slemmer's body was found with a pentagram, often seen as a satanic symbol, carved in her chest.
Pike's lawyers argued she should be granted clemency due to her young age and mental health issues at the time of the killing.
In the United States, 18 women have been executed since 1976, according to the Death Penalty Information Center. (with reports from AFP)
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