Lawyers: Pike was alive after two doses of lethal injection drug in Tennessee — ABC News Australia

In Tennessee, death-row inmate Christa Pike remained alive more than an hour after the execution drug was administered, her legal team said. According to ABC News Australia, lawyers claim that she was given two doses of the lethal injection drug.

The execution was delayed at the last minute

Pike was scheduled to be executed on September 30 at 10:00 local time at the Riverbend Maximum Security Institution in Nashville. About an hour before the planned execution, the procedure was halted because of a last-minute delay. Several hours later, the Supreme Court allowed it to resume.

Witnesses were released from Riverbend Maximum Security Institution after the procedure. Emergency service crews were seen near the prison and reportedly left the grounds with sirens and flashing lights activated.

More current news is available on the UA.News Telegram channel Telegram.

Witnesses reported a prolonged procedure

Several witnesses in the execution chamber told reporters that the procedure lasted unusually long and that the curtain in the room was closed several times. Associated Press journalist Kim Chandler, who was among the media witnesses, said Pike appeared noticeably conscious at the beginning of the procedure.

According to Chandler, the condemned woman opened her mouth several times, snored loudly and gasped for air. When media representatives were ordered to leave at about 20:53, she could still be heard from the chamber. Prison officials had not commented on the situation by the time of ABC News Australia's publication.