MOSCOW, October 1 (HS/RIA Novosti) - Christa Gail Pike, who was sentenced to death in the United States, survived two lethal injections, with the execution failing, Fox News reported, citing Pike's lawyer.

The woman was administered two doses of pentobarbital, but she was still alive more than 40 minutes after the last dose was given, the report said.

Witnesses were removed from the execution area, after which the Tennessee Department of Corrections confirmed that Pike had survived, Fox News reported.

Pike was convicted of murdering a 19-year-old woman in 1995. She was set to become the first woman executed in Tennessee in more than 200 years.

Following the incident, Tennessee Governor Bill Lee ordered that executions be halted until the end of the year, The Washington Post reported.

Carrying out a lawfully imposed sentence is among the State's most serious responsibilities, and the people of Tennessee expect it to be done in a manner that is not only legal and constitutional, but is effective, Lee said.

Robin Maher, executive director of the nonprofit Death Penalty Information Center, called the incident singular and unparalleled, saying that no one has survived until now after being administered lethal drugs used in executions.

The execution was scheduled for Wednesday morning at the Riverbend Maximum Security Institution in Nashville, but the procedure was blocked an hour before it was set to begin in order to consider arguments about violence Pike experienced in childhood. A few hours later, the US Supreme Court lifted the stay on request from prosecutors, allowing the sentence to be carried out.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Indrani Sarkar