Tennessee Prison Chief Resigns After Botched Execution
Frank Strada steps down following the failed lethal injection of Christa Pike, who survived multiple doses and remains on life support.
Tennessee's Commissioner of Correction, Frank Strada, resigned Saturday following the botched execution of convicted killer Christa Pike. The 50-year-old survived two lethal doses of the sedative pentobarbital last Wednesday, according to her lawyers, and is currently on life support in a hospital.
Pike sustained burns around the injection sites on her arms during the ordeal, which lasted nearly an hour and involved at least seven needles. Witnesses reported that one needle appeared bent upon removal and that sounds resembling snoring were heard before the witnesses were asked to leave the execution chamber.
Strada stated that his department had followed established protocols but that his resignation was in the best interest of Tennesseans as an independent review of the incident proceeds. He expressed his intention to assist fully in determining the exact circumstances of what occurred.
Pike, who was 18 at the time of her conviction for the 1995 murder of fellow student Colleen Slemmer, was the first woman to face execution in Tennessee in two centuries. Her lawyers had previously warned that her "tiny veins" posed a risk for lethal injection and had requested her death sentence be carried out by an all-female firing squad.
The failed execution has led Tennessee Governor Bill Lee to suspend all executions in the state and has intensified scrutiny of capital punishment practices in the United States. Pike's lawyers have characterized the events as "inhuman and barbaric."
In a notable detail, instead of requesting a final meal, Pike asked the prison to use the funds to purchase pizzas for the homeless.
This incident is not the first time Strada has been involved in criticized executions. He previously oversaw three lethal injections while working for Arizona's Department of Corrections, all of which were later described as "improperly" administered.
Should Pike recover, the possibility exists that she could face execution a second time. Her legal team has already filed an appeal to commute her death sentence to life imprisonment.