Turmoil in the US following the botched execution: Governor freezes the procedure

Tennessee Governor Bill Lee has halted further executions and launched an investigation after convicted murderer Christa Pike survived two lethal injections and was rushed to the hospital in critical condition. Her lawyers demanded the procedure be stopped, calling it torture, while the victim's mother expressed fury that she had not received justice.

Tennessee Governor Bill Lee has ordered a halt to further executions in the state and launched an official, comprehensive investigation into execution procedures following an unprecedented failure in which convicted murderer Christa Pike survived two lethal injections. Pike, sentenced to death for the torture and murder of 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer in 1995, was rushed to the hospital in critical condition after the procedure was stopped. The governor called the incident "deeply troubling and disturbing." Meanwhile, a legal battle waged by Pike's defense team while she was on the gurney was revealed: her attorney, Randy Spivey, demanded urgent access to a phone and sought to halt the procedure and provide medical care to prevent death by torture. Only half an hour later was an ambulance authorized to be called. The victim's mother, Mary Martinez, who was present, said in a heartbreaking conversation with the Associated Press: "I didn't get justice for my daughter. I watched this whole thing. She was awake, moving her head, moving her legs, and trying to sit up. The first injection didn't work, the second injection didn't work, and now she's in the hospital and alive. That's really not justice for Colleen." The Tennessee Department of Correction claimed it acted according to protocol and that the chemical was proven effective, but refused to explain what went wrong.