Tennessee corrections commissioner Frank Strada will step down after Christa Pike survived two doses of pentobarbital. Governor Bill Lee has paused remaining executions this year.
Tennessee prison commissioner Frank Strada will leave office later this month after the failed execution of Christa Pike, Governor Bill Lee said on Saturday. The New York Times reported that Pike survived two doses of pentobarbital on Wednesday, the state's second failed lethal-injection attempt this year.
As of Thursday evening Pike was unconscious and on a ventilator, with burns and blisters on both arms, her lawyers said in court filings cited by the Times. Lee has ordered an independent review and paused the remaining executions scheduled this year, including that of Gary Wayne Sutton, which The Tennessean said had been set for 3 December.
Strada said resigning was in the best interest of Tennesseans while the review proceeds. He also said he still believed the department had followed the established protocol. Lee thanked him and said he had served with integrity. On Thursday the governor had said that, so far as he knew, the department followed the protocol approved by the attorney general's office.
The Tennessean noted that an attempt to execute Tony Carruthers in May was stopped after staff could not set the IV lines. Two of three execution attempts under Strada in 2026 therefore failed.
Pike's lawyers said the resignation does not fix problems in the state's death-penalty system. The independent review had not published findings by Sunday morning.
People Sentiments Negative
- Bipartisan calls for Strada's resignation were reported before the announcement.
- Strada said the department followed protocol and that leaving was in Tennesseans' interest.
- Pike's attorneys said the resignation does not resolve the underlying problems.