Her Heart Still Beats: What Happened to Christa Pike After the Lethal Injection?

Christa Pike's attorney, a death row inmate in Tennessee, stated that she had been transferred to the hospital after her heart continued to beat following the injection of two lethal doses during an attempted execution.

Her legal team had filed an urgent request to halt the execution while it was underway, explaining that "Ms. Pike lost consciousness, but her heart is still beating, and she is making an audible sound resembling snoring."

One of her lawyers told the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) that Pike (50 years old) is currently undergoing "life-saving measures" at the hospital, after being injected with two doses of the drug "pentobarbital."

Pike was sentenced to death in 1996 for the conviction of killing Colleen Slemmer, who was 19 years old at the time.

The execution attempt took place at the high-security Riverbend prison in Nashville, around 8:00 PM local time on Wednesday.

The Associated Press reported that Pike received two doses of "pentobarbital," and the curtain separating the witness room was closed twice.

The news agency noted that media were asked to leave the premises at some point.