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Attorneys for Christa Pike say the death row inmate is still alive but in critical condition a day after the state's failed attempt to execute her for the 1995 murder of a woman. The state tried to execute Pike by lethal injection on Wednesday but neither the initial nor backup dose of pentobarbital killed her. Pike was still snoring when the execution chamber’s microphone was cut off more than an hour into the attempt, and she was later taken to a hospital for treatment. Her lawyers said Thursday that she is still being treated, but they didn't know details about how she's faring. Tennessee's Republican governor, Bill Lee, called what transpired “deeply disturbing” and has ordered an independent review.

Christa Pike was scheduled to be executed. But after two injections, she kept breathing. She made snoring sounds, she talked, she said her arm was hurting. The Associated Press was among those who witnessed her failed execution. She was strapped to the gurney, IV inserted to her body, when prison officials raised the curtain to the execution room at 7:27 p.m. But then she survived two doses of pentobarbital. Prison officials closed the curtain so the witnesses could no longer see, but they heard her breathing and what sounded like snoring coming from the death chamber. Eventually, the state abandoned the execution, and Pike was taken by ambulance to a hospital. Her attorneys said Thursday she was in critical condition.