Unprecedented: Female US inmate in critical condition after botched execution, 'loudly snoring, clearly very alive'

Christa Pike, a 50-year-old woman on death row in Tennessee, is in critical condition following a botched execution on Wednesday. Pike, who was the first woman to be put to death in the state in over 200 years, survived two lethal injections of pentobarbital and was taken from the execution chamber to a hospital. Her lawyer, Randy Spivey, stated that Pike is receiving life-saving care and urged Governor Bill Lee to commute her death sentence.

Experts on the US death penalty described the case as unprecedented and the worst botched execution they had ever seen. Pike had previously objected to the execution IV protocol, citing concerns about her small veins and a blood condition. Witnesses reported that Pike appeared awake during the execution and later began snoring, clearly indicating she was alive.

The Tennessee Department of Correction maintained that they followed every step of the state's execution protocol. The case has sparked debate over capital punishment, particularly for young criminals, and the US Supreme Court had cleared the way for the execution to proceed.