Governor says Tennessee’s prisons chief is resigning after failed execution of Christa Pike

Nashville, Tennessee (AP) — Governor Bill Lee announced on Saturday that Frank Strada, the head of Tennessee’s prison system, is resigning due to the failed execution of Christa Pike. Strada will step down this month to allow for an independent review to determine why Pike's execution failed on Wednesday. Pike was placed on a ventilator and remained unconscious in a hospital, according to her attorneys, who filed a court filing on Friday.

Hospital staff were attempting to save Pike's life, and as of late Thursday, they were working to clear the two doses of pentobarbital, the drug used for executions in Tennessee. The execution failure has sparked controversy on both sides of the death penalty debate, prompting Lee to order the independent review. Pike's lawyers believe problems with the IV lines may have caused the pentobarbital to enter her body instead of her bloodstream.

Pike was 18 years old when she and her boyfriend tortured and killed her classmate, Colleen Slemmer, out of jealousy. She subsequently became one of the youngest individuals to be sentenced to death.