'We could all hear her breathing': Witnessing the failed execution of Christa Pike

Last week, I was one of the seven media witnesses who observed Tennessee fail to execute convicted murderer Christa Pike, the first woman to face the death penalty in the state in almost 200 years.

This story was produced in partnership with KFF Health News .

From our previous reporting , each of us had an inkling that the lethal injection process might not go according to plan.

Pike's attorneys had asked the Tennessee Supreme Court to allow her to be hanged instead , citing concerns that a platelet disorder and small veins would make the actual injection not only painful but ineffective.

And Tennessee had already botched an execution attempt in May, when healthcare workers failed to establish complete IV access into Tony Carruthers, who was sentenced to death after being convicted for his involvement in the kidnapping and murders of three people in 1994.