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The Tennessee prison chief who oversaw the botched execution of murderer Christa Pike has resigned, Governor Bill Lee announced Saturday.
Tennessee Department of Correction Commissioner Frank Strada offered his resignation to Lee on Oct. 3 — three days after Pike survived two doses of a lethal injection — and will step down this month.
On Wednesday night, the governor called for a full, independent review of what may have gone wrong and halted the remaining execution the state had scheduled this year.
Strada maintained that the department carried out its responsibilities “in accordance with established protocol,” according to a statement obtained by The Tennessean.
“Even so, stepping aside is in the best interest of Tennesseans as the independent review moves forward,” Stada said. “I believe this review is entirely appropriate and necessary, and I look forward to doing everything I can to help determine exactly what occurred.”
Pike’s lawyers told The Post Saturday that Strada’s resignation is “justified, but it does nothing to help Christa now.”
“What happened to her Wednesday reflects a systemic failure that goes far beyond any one person,” they said.
Here’s the latest on the botched execution of Tennessee murderer Christa Pike:
- Christa Pike spoke about botched executions weeks before surviving lethal injection
- Tenn. GOP rep rips bungled Christa Pike execution: ‘All we’ve done is pick the scab off the wound’
- Christa Pike’s botched execution witness shares moment he knew ‘something’s going wrong’
- Witness reveals eerie new details from Christa Pike’s botched execution — her haunting song
Pike, 50, survived two lethal doses of pentobarbital on Wednesday night and was rushed to hospital for lifesaving treatment.
She is still alive, though is unconscious, intubated and breathing through a ventilator, according to her lawyers.
Strada was appointed by Lee in 2023 after previously serving as Deputy Director of the Arizona Department of Corrections and having 37 years of corrections management and law enforcement experience — including almost 30 years with the Federal Bureau of Prisons, according to an online bio.
In 2024, Tennessee changed its execution protocols, moving from a three-drug procedure to a single-drug protocol.
With Post wires.
