Tennessee inmate survives botched lethal injection execution

Christa Pike, a 50-year-old woman on death row in Tennessee, survived a lethal injection execution on September 30. She is the first person known to survive after receiving a full dose of pentobarbital, the drug used in the procedure.

Pike was convicted of killing 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer in 1995. She was 18 at the time. She and two others led Slemmer into woods near Knoxville, where they attacked and killed her.

During the execution attempt, Pike felt burning pain and said her arm felt like it would burst. She then lost consciousness. After waking up, she reported pain throughout her body and difficulty speaking.