TN looks to new prison system leadership, changes in execution protocol
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WZTV) — Tennessee Department of Correction Commissioner Frank Strada is resigning as the state investigates the failed lethal injection of convicted murderer Christa Pike.
Gov. Bill Lee announced Strada’s resignation Saturday, three days after the execution attempt failed. Pike remains unconscious and on a ventilator in a hospital, according to the latest update from her attorneys.
“This is a process that has been used over a hundred times in this country without this outcome. We need to know why the outcome is different this time, than ever before,” Lee said during an interview with media Thursday, the morning after Pike's lethal injection went awry.
Her legal team is also asking a Davidson County Chancery Court judge to order Tennessee officials to preserve physical, written and electronic evidence connected to the failed execution.
Pike’s attorneys say the execution team struggled to establish IV access to a vein, or to realize the IV lines had been improperly placed or damaged. They also say Pike received two sets of pentobarbital shots and that the medication may have leaked into her surrounding tissue instead of being delivered into the vein. Those allegations have not been independently verified.
Her attorneys also said Pike’s arms were swollen, burned and blistered when she arrived at the hospital.
The failed execution is the second troubled execution in Tennessee this year.
The state also encountered problems during an attempted execution of prisoner Tony Carruthers in May, when officials were unable to place an IV line, after more than an hour.
Tennessee will now look for new leadership in its prison system, and consider potential changes to its execution protocol after another independent review.
Democratic nominee for governor Jerri Green had called for Strada’s resignation Friday. Other candidates for governor also said they would not keep him in the position if elected.
“I’m glad to see it. It’s a first step in the right direction, but we need to do more,” Green said after a campaign stop Saturday.
Strada previously served as deputy director of the Arizona Department of Corrections, leaving the post in 2023 to join Tennessee.
During his time in Arizona, the department experienced three reported botched executions, all involving difficulties establishing IV access. Similar problems occurred during Tennessee’s attempted execution of Carruthers in May.
Lee was asked whether he bears responsibility for hiring Strada and keeping him in the position.
“So far as we know, the Department of Correction followed exactly the protocol that was outlined and vetted and approved by the Attorney General’s office. At this point, that is all we know,” Lee said Thursday.
The circumstances surrounding Pike’s execution attempt have also raised questions about what happened inside the execution chamber.
Pike’s attorneys said the execution team spent about an hour attempting to administer the IV. They said the curtain was closed for roughly 25 minutes Wednesday night, including during a period when witnesses were waiting for an update.
“No one knew what was going on behind that curtain,” an attorney for Pike said.
The execution had already been delayed Wednesday morning when the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals temporarily halted it. The U.S. Supreme Court later lifted that stay, allowing Tennessee to proceed.
Republican candidate for governor U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn released a statement following Strada’s resignation, Saturday.
“This was the right thing to do in order to move forward, but it does not change the fact that we are going to make changes in people and processes at the Department of Corrections,” Blackburn said.
Earlier this week, Blackburn said she is considering bringing back the electric chair in Tennessee or calling a special legislative session to address problems with the state’s execution procedures.
Lee also announced Saturday that he appointed former U.S. Attorney Ed Stanton to lead an independent investigation into what went wrong during Pike’s execution.
Stanton previously led a review of Tennessee’s lethal injection protocol in 2022 regarding how the drugs are tested and prepared. That review resulted in changes to how the state and Attorney General’s Office handled executions before the state resumed them.
Lee has ordered all executions in Tennessee to be halted until at least the end of the year while the review is underway.
Pike, now 50, was sentenced to death for the 1995 killing of 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer in Knoxville. Pike was 18 at the time of the killing.
Slemmer’s family has expressed frustration over the failed execution and the additional uncertainty surrounding the case.