The Commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Correction, Frank Strada, has resigned following the botched execution of death-row inmate Christa Pike.
Tennessee Governor Bill Lee announced on Saturday that Strada would step down later this month as an independent investigation examines what went wrong during Pike’s execution.
Lee said Strada had served with integrity and that he appreciated his decision to resign in the interest of Tennessee residents. A replacement has not yet been announced.
Strada, who became Tennessee’s corrections commissioner three years ago, previously held a senior position in Arizona’s corrections department, where several executions under his watch encountered complications.
In a statement, Strada said his resignation was in the best interest of Tennesseans. He also supported the independent review, saying it was necessary to establish exactly what happened during Pike’s execution.
Pike was taken to hospital after surviving two attempts to administer pentobarbital, the drug used by Tennessee for lethal injections. Her lawyers later said she had been placed on a ventilator and intubated while doctors worked to remove the drug from her system.
According to court documents filed by her lawyers, problems with the intravenous lines may have caused the drug to enter tissue instead of her bloodstream.
Pike’s legal team described Strada’s resignation as justified but said it would not help their client. They argued that the incident pointed to wider problems within Tennessee’s death penalty system.
Governor Lee has suspended all executions in Tennessee for the rest of the year while the state investigates the failed execution.
Pike was 18 when she was sentenced to death for the torture and murder of another young woman in 1995. She became one of the youngest women in the United States to be placed on death row.
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