Death row inmate in Tennessee survives after two lethal injections

The execution of death row inmate Christa Pike in Tennessee could not be carried out despite the administration of two lethal injections. Pike was taken to a hospital, where she is receiving medical care to sustain her life, according to her lawyer.

During the execution process, Pike's legal team filed an emergency motion with the court seeking to halt the procedure. According to the lawyers, Pike lost consciousness but still had a heartbeat and was snoring loudly.

One of the lawyers told the BBC that 50-year-old Pike was administered pentobarbital via two syringes, after which she was hospitalized and is now undergoing life-saving treatment.

Pike was sentenced to death for the 1996 murder of 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer. Her execution had been the subject of legal disputes right up to the last minute. Ultimately, the U.S. Supreme Court authorized the use of lethal injection.

Pike was 18 years old when she and her then-boyfriend, Tadarrell Shipp, beat, tortured, and killed 19-year-old Slemmer. They had met Slemmer at a vocational training camp for troubled youth.

Slemmer's mother, May Martinez, was among those calling for Pike's execution. Speaking to NBC News after the events of Wednesday evening, she said, "It was chaos."

The execution attempt began at the Riverbend Maximum Security Institution in Nashville on Wednesday at approximately 8:00 p.m. local time.