(Tennessee Department of Correction)<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\nThe attempted execution was supposed to be a carefully controlled procedure.<\/p>\n
Instead, it quickly became clear to witnesses that something had gone seriously wrong.<\/p>\n
Now, one of the few people who witnessed the execution firsthand is describing the moment he realized the situation was anything but routine.<\/p>\n
Will Puckett was among just seven media witnesses inside the Riverbend Maximum Security Institution in Nashville on Wednesday night.<\/p>\n
According to Puckett, the first warning sign came before witnesses even saw Pike.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs we\u2019re sitting in this room, and it\u2019s now taking nearly an hour for them to open the curtain from the time that we\u2019re sat,\u201d Puckett told The US Sun, one of his fellow witnesses leaned over and told him, \u201cIt should not be taking this long for the curtains to open. Something\u2019s going wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n
That assessment proved to be correct.<\/p>\n
Puckett described the experience as \u201csurreal\u201d and said he was left \u201cat a loss for words\u201d as the procedure unfolded.<\/p>\n
\nRather than receiving an immediate explanation from prison officials, witnesses eventually saw the curtain open.<\/p>\n
Pike\u2019s attorneys later provided more details about what had happened behind the scenes.<\/p>\n
Attorney Randy Spivey said medical personnel spent approximately an hour attempting to establish IV access, using at least seven needles in Pike\u2019s arm. One needle reportedly came out bent.<\/p>\n
Pike ultimately survived the two doses of pentobarbital administered during the failed execution.<\/p>\n
Witnesses also reported hearing Pike breathing and snoring after the drugs had been administered. They were eventually escorted from the execution area without knowing exactly what would happen next.<\/p>\n
On Thursday, Pike\u2019s legal team confirmed that she was alive and receiving what they described as \u201clife-saving care.\u201d Her current prognosis remains unclear.<\/p>\n
Tennessee governor Bill Lee has since suspended executions in the state for the remainder of the year and ordered an independent review of what went wrong.<\/p>\n
We will have further updates on this developing story as new information becomes available.<\/p>\n
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