Christa Pike says she has been in constant pain since surviving botched execution

Christa Pike, the Tennessee inmate who survived a lethal-injection attempt last month, said she has been in pain every moment since waking up in a hospital. In a statement dictated to her lawyers, Pike described ongoing physical discomfort in her arms, hands, throat and overall body, and added that the suffering extends to her mind and soul.

"There hasn't been a moment since that night when I haven't been in pain. My body hurts. My arms hurt. My hands hurt. My throat hurts. I still struggle to speak. And the pain isn't just physical. There is pain in my mind and in my soul," Pike said.

Pike, 50, was given two doses of a lethal-injection drug but remained alive, prompting a medical emergency that led to her hospitalization for pneumonia, a blood clot and severe swelling of her hands. She was released back to the prison on Oct. 10 after beginning to walk again.

"I don't know why I survived that night. I don't know what comes next. Some days, finding hope is harder than others. For now, I am trying to heal, one day at a time," she added.

Governor Bill Lee, who has paused executions in Tennessee through the end of the year, said Pike's sentence is likely to remain unchanged unless a court decides otherwise.

"I suspect her sentence will be the same as before unless determined otherwise by the courts," Lee told reporters.

Pike's attorneys have sought to preserve evidence of the botched execution and have urged the governor to consider commuting her sentence. The incident has intensified scrutiny of Tennessee's lethal-injection protocols, which have been described as increasingly vague in a recent review.