Tennessee authorities administered two injections of the lethal drug pentobarbital to Christina Pike, who was sentenced to death for murder, but her heart continued to beat and she was taken to a hospital.

The execution took place Wednesday at a correctional facility in Nashville, where Pike was given two injections of the lethal drug. After she lost consciousness, doctors at the scene noticed that she was still snoring loudly and that her heart continued to beat. They decided to transport her to a local hospital, where she received life-saving treatment as doctors continue fighting to save her life.

The case is a rare instance in which lethal injections failed to kill a death-row inmate. Pike, 50, was sentenced to death for a murder she committed in 1995. According to her conviction, she murdered 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer. She was set to become the first woman executed in the state of Tennessee in 200 years, but the execution failed.

Pike’s attorneys said they filed an emergency request to halt the execution and provide her with medical treatment following the failed procedure.

“Tonight, the state of Tennessee once again failed to carry out a lawful execution," her attorneys said. “We do not take pleasure in being right, but the concerns Ms. Pike raised proved correct: difficult access to veins, ruptured veins, degraded pentobarbital, a lack of emergency medical care available when things inevitably go wrong, all under a protocol that remains shrouded in secrecy."

The Tennessee Department of Correction said it stands behind all the actions taken during the execution attempt.

“We followed every step of the state’s established and lawful execution protocol, which was approved by the Office of the Attorney General," the department said. “The chemical used for lethal injection under the protocol has been consistently effective, and the protocol does not provide for any additional procedures beyond those carried out this evening. Christina Pike was transferred to a medical facility outside the prison."