Christa Pike's friend revealed the death row inmate said she 'wasn't afraid to die but was afraid of the process' before the botched execution that saw her survive two 'torturous' doses of the lethal injection.
The 50-year-old had been incarcerated for almost three decades for the brutal 1995 torture and murder of 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer. However, after the pentobarbital failed to kill her on September 30, Pike was taken to hospital, where, at one point, her lawyers say she was declared brain dead. Then, in another unprecedented turn of events, Pike was discharged after 10 days and returned to the Deborah K Johnson rehabilitation centre, where she continues to be medically monitored.
Pike's survival leads to pause in executions
Pike's survival led Tennessee Governor Bill Lee to pause all executions in the state until the end of the year. Meanwhile, an investigation into the protocol has been ordered.
Now, one of Pike's closest friends has shared a glimpse into the prisoner's state of mind before it all went wrong. Marcy, 60, formed an unlikely bond with Pike when her own daughter, Teddy, was incarcerated with the killer back in 2017. At first, Marcy was horrified to learn that her daughter was sharing a wing with Pike, who violently bludgeoned Slemmer to death with her then-boyfriend, Tadaryl Shipp. But when she discovered Pike sent Teddy shower shoes when she didn't have any in prison, Marcy sent Pike a letter of thanks. This led to the pair communicating via letters before they met in person. Marcy and Pike even continued their friendship after Teddy died in 2023, aged 32, from a fentanyl overdose.
Final visit before execution
Fast-forward nine years and Marcy was one of the last people to see Pike, four days before her execution. Marcy was able to visit the death row inmate in the maximum-security prison, where Pike reportedly said she was 'ready' to die, but was 'afraid' of the process. Marcy told The Mail on Sunday that she was able to visit Pike for three-and-a-half hours. She recalled: 'I was led into a small room and I got to hug her. We sat close, we got to touch each other. We had snacks. I prayed with her.'
During that time, Marcy said they 'talked about happy times,' and the 'different things that happened when she and Teddy were there [in prison] together.' Marcy also revealed that Pike broke down on one occasion, as the stark reality of her looming execution hit home. 'We were sitting there in the room and at one point she just crumbled,' she said, adding that it was the 'most profound thing to be looking in the eyes of a condemned woman'.
Pike's fears and aftermath
Marcy continued: 'She told me, "Marcy, I'm not afraid to die. I'm just afraid of the process." She was afraid because of the pain. So many people have made comments like, "Look at the pain that she put her victim through," and those are valid statements, but it's only human for her to be afraid of pain.' When the visit came to an end, Marcy revealed she was able to hug Pike goodbye, who said to her: 'I don't want you to worry about me. I'm ready. I'm good. Everything's going to be OK.'
However, Marcy — who also spoke with Pike on the phone the night before the scheduled execution, believing it would be the last time she'd hear her friend's voice — is now looking to the future. 'I cannot even begin to imagine what our first conversation is going to be like. But it's going to be absolutely wonderful,' she told the outlet. Calling Pike a 'survivor' and the last couple of weeks a blur, Marcy continued: 'It was bad news one day, good news the next. The hospital declared her brain dead on Monday night and then she wakes up talking the next morning.'
It was also revealed that Pike had woken up in the hospital 'confused and angry' after the botched execution. Her lawyers claimed her first words were: 'Where am I?' and 'Who are you?' Pike's legal team added that, during her hospital stay, she continued to 'experience cognitive challenges with concentration and memory.' They explained that 'physicians have cautioned it may take months to fully understand whether she sustained lasting cognitive injuries.'
Calls for sentence change and remorse
Therefore, they are calling for Pike's sentence to be changed to life behind bars. But among all the noise about Pike, and the irony of the initial efforts to kill her followed by the hospital trying to save her, Marcy also spoke about the original victim: Colleen Slemmer. She told the publication that Pike was remorseful and told her on many occasions that 'she wished she could take back what she did'.
'She was just months into being 18 when it happened and if she'd been a bit younger, it would have been a different outcome,' Marcy said, referring to Pike's death sentence and Shipp's life sentence, which the latter received due to him being 17 at the time of the murder.
