Tennessee death row inmate Christa Pike was taken to a hospital on Wednesday after her execution was halted when she reportedly survived two doses of lethal injection. Her heart was still beating and she was audibly snoring, according to her legal team, who filed an emergency motion to stop the procedure as it was underway.

Pike, 50, was sentenced to death in 1996 for the 1995 murder of 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer. The failed execution has renewed scrutiny of the state's lethal injection protocols and the drugs used, particularly pentobarbital, which has been increasingly difficult for states to obtain.

One of Pike's attorneys informed the BBC that she was receiving life-saving medical care in the hospital following the administration of two syringes of the sedative pentobarbital. The legal team's motion described Pike as having lost consciousness but maintaining a heartbeat, indicating the execution had not been successfully carried out.

The incident raises significant questions about the effectiveness and humanity of Tennessee's method of capital punishment. Legal experts and death penalty opponents have frequently voiced concerns about the use of pentobarbital, citing instances where it may not have rendered inmates unconscious quickly enough, leading to potential suffering.

This is not the first time Pike's execution has faced delays or legal challenges. The state's use of lethal injection has been a subject of ongoing litigation, with questions surrounding the sourcing of drugs and the potential for botched executions. The Tennessee Department of Correction has not yet released a detailed statement regarding the specific circumstances of Pike's failed execution.

Colleen Slemmer's murder was particularly brutal. Pike, her cellmate at the time, along with two other inmates, tortured and killed Slemmer. Pike was convicted of stabbing Slemmer repeatedly and then using a piece of her victim's skull to cut off her nose and ears.

Pike's case has drawn attention due to her status as the only woman on death row in Tennessee. The legal team's emergency motion highlighted the apparent failure of the lethal injection process, arguing that it constituted cruel and unusual punishment, a claim that has been central to many legal battles over capital punishment.

The implications of this event extend to the broader debate on capital punishment in the United States. The challenges in obtaining execution drugs and the reported complications in carrying out sentences lead to further calls for reform or abolition of the death penalty, as well as intense scrutiny of the state's execution procedures.