‘Comprehensive, Third-Party Review’: Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee Orders Immediate Probe Into Botched Christa Pike Execution — State Insists It Followed 'Every Step’ of Its ‘Execution Protocol'

The Christa Pike execution case has failed to go as planned, and now Tennessee Governor Bill Lee is ordering an immediate probe into it.

According to the latest rulings shared by USA Today, Lee said that he ordered an investigation into what went wrong with Pike's execution, shortly before midnight.

"Carrying out a lawfully imposed sentence is among the State's most serious responsibilities, and the people of Tennessee expect it to be done in a manner that is not only legal and constitutional, but is effective," the governor said.

"I have ordered a comprehensive, third-party review to determine exactly what occurred," he added.

The governor has also postponed the execution of convicted killer Gary Wayne Sutton, which was the state's other remaining execution scheduled for this year.

Meanwhile, the state corrections officials' statement, shared late in the evening, said that they followed Tennessee's "execution protocol" but that it did not immediately kill Pike.

"The Tennessee Department of Correction followed every step of the state’s lawful, established execution protocol approved by the Attorney General’s Office," the statement said.

The statement continued, "The lethal injection chemical in the protocol has consistently been effective, and the protocol does not allow for additional procedures beyond what was carried out this evening. Christa Pike has been transported to an off-site medical facility."

For those who might not know, hours after Pike's execution process began, state officials told the Tennessee Supreme Court that she was being taken to a hospital in an ambulance to get medical care.

However, it has yet to be confirmed whether Pike had passed away or was still alive as of 12:15 a.m. CT, since the execution did not go as planned.

According to the details shared by the outlet, Pike's execution on Wednesday went awry when she was still alive and experiencing "unnecessary agony" after getting two syringes filled with lethal injection chemicals.

Because of this unexpected turn in the execution process, the 50-year-old's attorneys filed an emergency motion in the Tennessee Supreme Court to immediately stop the process.

They said that the prolonged nature of the execution attempt caused her "superadded physical and mental suffering."

However, the Tennessee Supreme Court later said that the motion to stop the execution was moot, as the state advised the court that Pike had not been pronounced dead yet.

Additionally, while the reporters were waiting for word from the Tennessee Department of Corrections regarding an update on Pike's execution, execution witnesses told the reporters that they were asked to leave while she was still apparently alive.

Further updates are awaited on the matter.

In the Tennessee Department of Correction’s lethal injection protocol, one set of syringes for the lethal dose is prepared by officials.

The set comprises four syringes: one of sterile saline solution, two of 50 milliliters of pentobarbital, and another of saline, as per the protocol.

After the first set, there is a five-minute waiting period. Following this, the witness blinds are closed, the camera is disengaged, and the doctor enters the death chamber to assess the inmate’s pulse. In case the inmate is still not deceased, a Backup Set B of syringes is prepared.