Christa Pike case underscores prevalence of botched executions in US

The botched execution of Christa Pike has sparked debate about the death penalty in the United States, where lethal injections, experts say, are frequently marred by mishaps and incompetence.The attempted execution of Pike, a woman sentenced to death for her participation in the murder of a classmate when she was 18 years old, was called off after two doses of pentobarbital failed to kill her on September 30.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Christa Pike was nearly taken off life support before waking, lawyers saylist 2 of 3Christa Pike is awake after surviving execution: What happens now?list 3 of 3Christa Pike lawyers say she is speaking one week after failed executionend of listWitnesses reported that she continued to breathe, snore and lift parts of her body off the gurney to which she was strapped even after the lethal injections were administered. Pike’s lawyers said that she had regained consciousness at the hospital on October 6 but faces a long path to recovery.Governor Bill Lee announced a pause on executions in the state and promised a “comprehensive, third-party review” of the incident, the second case this year in which Tennessee authorities have called off...