Death row inmate in the USA survived execution, regained consciousness and is speaking

Pike was planned to be executed on the night of September 30 at Riverbend Maximum Security Prison in Nashville, the capital of the state of Tennessee.

Lawyers and journalists who witnessed the incident described the moments when correctional officers tried to administer two doses of pentobarbital intravenously as a period of approximately two and a half hours of turmoil and suffering.

According to witness statements, Pike moaned throughout the procedure, cried, had trouble breathing and at one point said, "I feel like my arm is going to explode."

In the petitions reflected in the court records, it was stated that swelling, burns and blisters occurred on both arms of the prisoner as a result of pentobarbital, a highly alkaline and caustic substance, leaking into the tissues under the skin.

Lawyers argued that authorities ignored doctors' warnings that it would be difficult to establish an intravenous line due to the thinness of Pike's veins and an existing blood disease.

It was noted that while the execution process was going on, lawyers applied for an emergency stop, and prison officials ended the process and called an ambulance.

Although the State Department of Corrections initially maintained that protocol rules were followed, it was announced that the commissioner of the institution, Frank Strada, will leave his post this month.

The state's Republican Governor, Bill Lee, announced that he was suspending executions for the rest of the year and launching an independent review.