Christa Pike remained alive after receiving two doses of the lethal injection drug pentobarbital during an attempted execution in Nashville on Wednesday, in a procedure her legal team later described as 'torturous'. The 50-year-old was rushed to hospital for what her lawyers called 'life-saving measures' after the injection failed to end her life.
Attorney Randy Spivey said execution staff spent more than an hour trying to establish an IV line before the drugs were administered. Pike's lawyers later argued that she was enduring 'unnecessary agony' and sought emergency court intervention.
