Tennessee execution scandal: Prison chief who oversaw botched lethal injection resigns, says governor

Prison chief Frank Strada has resigned in Tennessee following the botched execution of Christa Pike, a convicted murderer, according to Governor Bill Lee. The execution of Pike, 50, went awry on Wednesday, leaving her in critical condition and on a ventilator in a hospital. Pike's lawyers stated that she survived two lethal injection doses of pentobarbital, which was meant to punish her for the murder of Colleen Slemmer in 1995.

This was the second failed execution in Tennessee this year, after one was halted in May due to medical staff failing to insert a vein in the prisoner's arm.

Lee expressed gratitude for Strada's commitment to the state's interests during this challenging period. However, Strada maintained that the Department of Correction had carried out its duties according to established protocol. The governor has since suspended all executions for the remainder of the year while a comprehensive review is underway.

Had the drugs worked as intended, Pike would have been the first woman executed in Tennessee in over two centuries. Globally, only 18 women have been executed since 1976, according to the Death Penalty Information Centre.