US: Witness describes Tennessee woman's 'failed' execution

A Tennessee woman convicted of murder survived two lethal injection doses and was hospitalized on Thursday. Hours earlier on Wednesday the Supreme Court cleared the way for Christa Pike, 50, to become the first woman to be executed in the southern US state of Tennessee in 200 years.

Pike was 18 when she and her boyfriend beat and killed Colleen Slemmer, 19, at a job training camp for young people. The killing gained national attention after Slemmer's body was found with a pentagram, often seen as a satanic symbol, carved in her chest.

Pike's lawyers argued she should be granted clemency due to her young age and mental health issues at the time of the killing. The US Supreme Court had rejected Tuesday an application for a stay of execution. Independent UN rights experts have urged the US government and Tennessee authorities to "immediately halt" the execution and commute her death sentence.