A leaked image reportedly showing Christa Pike’s severely injured arm following her failed execution has emerged, amid claims that repeated attempts to establish an IV may help explain why she survived.Pike remains unconscious in hospital after the state of Tennessee attempted to execute her last week, administering two doses of the lethal drug pentobarbital, with both proving to be unsuccessful.The reportedly leaked picture of Pike’s injured armAccording to RadarOnline, the alleged photograph was obtained from an insider within the Tennessee Department of Correction and reportedly shows Pike’s arm covered in severe bruising, with an almost-purple appearance.

The outlet said the source claimed the image showed “trauma and internal bleeding from the elbow downward,” but RadarOnline has not published the photograph online, meaning that it hasn’t been independently verified.The source who allegedly provided the picture claimed: “The needle blew her vein, causing the chemicals to go to the muscle,” with Pike’s lawyers alleging that problems establishing an intravenous line meant the drugs were delivered into surrounding tissue rather than directly into her bloodstream.A professor of anesthesiology and pediatrics at Stanford University School of Medicine, Richard Levy, explained that pentobarbital is intended to stop breathing, depriving the body of oxygen before ultimately causing the heart to stop.