Christa Pike in critical condition after surviving two lethal injections

Tennessee death row inmate Christa Pike is in critical condition in hospital after surviving two lethal injections during an attempted execution, with her lawyers now seeking to have her death sentence commuted.

Pike, 50, was taken to hospital by ambulance after being administered two doses of pentobarbital on Wednesday but remained alive, according to the BBC. Her lawyer Randy Spivey said Thursday that she was receiving life-saving care.

"We don't have a sense of her prognosis or much update on her health at the moment," Spivey told reporters on Thursday. "But we do know that she is alive right now."

Pike's lawyers are asking Tennessee Governor Bill Lee to commute her death sentence, a request that had previously been rejected.

Pike was sentenced to death in 1996 for the murder of 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer. She was 18 when she and her then-boyfriend, Tadaryl Shipp, beat, tortured and killed Slemmer.

Her execution was preceded by a last-minute legal battle, which reached the US Supreme Court. The court ultimately allowed Tennessee officials to proceed with the lethal injection.

Pike survived two doses

Pike was administered two doses of pentobarbital after the first attempt failed, in accordance with Tennessee's execution protocol. Court filings by her lawyers said she remained alive after both doses.

Her lawyer Spivey said the execution team spent about an hour trying to establish an intravenous line before administering the lethal drug.

"Last night, the execution team attempted to establish an IV line for an hour," Spivey said. "I counted at least seven needles used in her left arm alone, one of which appeared to be bent when it was pulled from her arm after an unsuccessful attempt."

He said observers were kept in a dark room behind a closed curtain after the second dose had been administered and it became clear that Pike was still breathing.

"No-one knew what was going on behind that curtain," Spivey said. "I had no idea when and if medical professionals began to assist."

Another of Pike's lawyers, Stephen Ferrell, said her legal team was considering further options while prioritising her recovery.

"We want to think this through and we want to make sure that Christa recovers and has some input in what she wants," he said.

Spivey said the governor should now commute Pike's sentence.

Tennessee halts executions

Governor Lee has ordered an independent review of the failed execution and suspended all executions in Tennessee for the remainder of the year.

"There are a lot of questions," Lee said. "The people of our state deserve to have those questions answered, and that's what this investigation is for."

He added that the investigation "will be thorough" and "it's going to take time".

Lee has not said who will conduct the independent review of the state's execution procedures.

The suspension will also affect the planned 3 December execution of convicted murderer Gary Sutton.

The Tennessee Department of Correction, which carried out the execution, said officials followed the state's established procedures.

It said it "followed every step of the State's lawful, established execution protocol approved by the attorney general's office".

"The lethal injection chemical in the protocol has consistently been effective, and the protocol does not allow for additional procedures beyond what was carried out this evening."

Pike's lawyers have argued that the failed execution subjected her to unnecessary suffering.

"This execution is causing Ms Pike unnecessary agony and occurring in violation of his right to be executed free of cruel and unusual punishment," her lawyers said.

The Tennessee attorney general's office supported the decision to investigate the incident.

"We need to know what happened," it said.

Debate follows failed execution

The incident has also reignited debate over Tennessee's execution methods.

US Republican Senator Marsha Blackburn, who is running for Tennessee governor, described the incident as "tragic" and called for the electric chair to be reinstated.

"While there should be a thorough review of what happened and why the process failed, the answer is simple: bring back the electric chair," Blackburn said.

Democrat Jerri Green, Blackburn's opponent, criticised the proposal and said she would seek to halt executions if elected.

"As governor, I would put a moratorium on all future executions," Green said on X.

Green also criticised Blackburn for wanting to "bring back one of the most cruel forms of capital punishment".

Pike's case is the second failed execution attempt in Tennessee this year.

In May, officials called off the execution of Tony Carruthers after staff were unable to find a vein to administer the lethal drug. Carruthers was subsequently granted a one-year reprieve.