Execution of Tennessee woman appears to have failed: witnesses

• The execution of Tennessee woman Christa Pike appeared to fail, with witnesses reporting she was still breathing and snoring after lethal injection.
• Attorneys described the situation as agonising and a violation of the right to be executed without cruel punishment, seeking an emergency stay and life-saving measures.
• Journalists witnessed Pike moving, singing, and complaining of pain before being escorted out; an ambulance left the site, though Pike's condition remains unclear.

WASHINGTON – The execution of a Tennessee woman on Sept 30 seemed to have failed, with witnesses and Christa Pike’s attorney telling local media the convicted murderer was still breathing and audibly snoring after being given lethal injection.

“It appears this did not go how this was supposed to go,” said investigative journalist John North of WBIR who was a witness at the execution site, adding “when we left the building, so far as we knew, she was probably still alive.”

Tennessee corrections officials did not publicly confirm the outcome of the execution, which included two injections of pentobarbital, or respond to an AFP query seeking information.

WVLT television reported that Pike’s attorney was filing an emergency stay to halt the execution and “immediately begin life-saving measures.”

Her attorneys told the news station “this has turned into agony and a violation of Pike’s right to be executed free of cruel and unusual punishment.”

Her attorney did not immediately respond to an AFP request for comment.

Seven journalists who were in the room to witness the execution said afterward, on a livestream hosted by WVLT television station, that the 50-year-old was singing and moving at times, complained of pain in her arm after the injection, and was clearly alive and snoring before corrections officials escorted journalists out.

“We just listened, as they said, to her snoring and making very loud breathing sounds for almost an hour”, said Catherine Sweeney of WPLN television.

Steven Hale from the Nashville Banner, a local news site, added “whatever just happened happened behind a closed curtain when Christa Pike was still alive. We could still hear her breathing, but we could not see what was going on.”

During the livestream, an ambulance with its lights flashing could be seen leaving the site of the execution, it’s unclear if it was transporting Pike. AFP