The drug used in Tennessee’s failed execution has come under past scrutiny

(AP) NASHVILLE – The lethal drug administered in Tennessee’s failed attempt to execute Christa Pike has been used in multiple states that carry out the death penalty.

Pike’s attorneys say the 50-year-old death row prisoner remained alive after two doses of pentobarbital were administered Wednesday. Republican Gov. Bill Lee ordered a third-party review to determine what happened and said another scheduled execution in Tennessee will not take place this year.

Pentobarbital is a barbiturate, a class of drugs that depresses the central nervous system. Approved medical uses include sedation, short-term treatment of insomnia, preparation for anesthesia and emergency control of certain severe seizures.

(IMAGE: Riverbend Maximum Security Institution, via Google Maps)