Dr. Mark Fowler, the physician who oversaw Christa Pike's botched execution and a previous failed attempt to execute another inmate, is speaking out about the controversial procedures.In an interview with Intelligencer, Mark Fowler defended his work and rejected suggestions he was unfit to oversee executions."I'm not an evil, vicious person. I'm not unscrupulous. I'm not uncaring, and I'm not incompetent.”Mark Fowler also recalled his reaction after realizing Christa Pike was still alive during the Sept. 30 execution attempt. He said he worried she would end up:"in a permanent vegetative state with a quarter-million dollars in medical expenses."The doctor previously oversaw the May execution attempt of Tony Carruthers, whose procedure was called off after his team failed to establish a backup IV line and central line.Mark Fowler said he personally stopped the attempt because he believed there was inadequate anesthetic. He also maintained he had successfully placed IV lines "several times" before."It's like riding a bicycle, and, frankly, the motor skills and neurological skills required to ride a bicycle are far more complex than placing an IV line.”Both Christa Pike and Tony Carruthers reportedly complained of pain and moaned during their procedures. Fowler dismissed Carruthers' reactions as "a bit of theater."Although Mark Fowler acknowledged the death penalty is "probably" unfairly administered, he said he hopes Tennessee attempts to execute Pike again, citing "a sense of justice" for the family of her victim, Colleen Slemmer.Christa Pike, meanwhile, has said she has experienced constant pain since waking up in the hospital after the failed execution. She was discharged on Oct. 10 and transferred back to death row.Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee subsequently halted executions in the state for the remainder of the year.Christa Pike: Timeline of a 1995 campus murder and death row survivalOn Jan. 12, 1995, Christa Gail Pike, who was 18 at the time, along with Tadaryl Shipp and Shadolla Peterson, tortured and murdered their classmate Colleen Slemmer, 19, in Knoxville. They kept a piece of her skull.Two days later, Christa Pike turned herself in and confessed to the murder.She was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to death in March 1996, becoming one of the youngest women on death row in U.S. history.In August 2001, while in prison, Pike attempted to strangle another inmate, resulting in an attempted first-degree murder conviction.Meanwhile, fast forward to Sept. 28, 2026, Pike's clemency request was denied by Governor Bill Lee. The U.S. Supreme Court also rejected her appeals, clearing the way for her execution.On Sept. 30, Tennessee attempted to execute her via lethal injection, but the execution was botched when she survived two full doses of pentobarbital. The execution was aborted, and she was hospitalized in critical condition.In October, Tennessee halted all executions pending an independent investigation, the Department of Correction commissioner resigned, and Pike was returned to prison after recovering.Pike released her first public statement after the botched execution, dictated to her legal team. According to her, she was prepared to die and was grateful to the people who had loved and supported her through the years.However, she woke up several days later confused, with her body aching everywhere.“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. I had not contemplated life beyond that night, and I’m deeply hurt by the incompetence that has put so many people in this terrible position. I continue to think about my victim’s family and the terrible pain and loss they have endured.”She added that while she has been recovering, she has also been isolated.“I have been largely isolated in the prison’s medical ward, away from other people and the human connections that mean so much to me. That isolation brings its own kind of pain. I spent 28 years in solitary confinement, and much of what I am experiencing today is a repeat of that condition.”Christa Pike concluded her message, admitting that she felt uncertain about what comes next.“Some days, finding hope is harder than others. For now, I am trying to heal, one day at a time.”