Tennessee halts executions after Christa Pike survives two lethal injection attempts

Executions in Tennessee have been halted for the rest of the year, Governor Bill Lee has said, after two attempts to execute death row inmate Christa Pike by lethal injection failed.

Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Lee said he was "highly disappointed" about the botched execution, which he called one of the state's "most serious responsibilities". He has ordered an independent review.

Tennessee prison officials on Wednesday attempted to administer two lethal doses of pentobarbital to Pike but she survived and was taken to hospital. Her medical condition is unclear.

Pike, 50, was sentenced to death in 1996 for the murder of Colleen Slemmer.

She was 18 when she and her then-boyfriend, Tadaryl Shipp, beat, tortured and killed 19-year-old Slemmer.

Pike would have been the first woman to be executed in Tennessee for over 200 years.

Lee said on Thursday the investigation into Pike's botched execution "will be thorough", adding that "it's going to take time".

"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."

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