Tennessee Prison Chief Resigns After Botched Christa Pike Execution Left Death Row Killer Alive
Tennessee prison chief Frank Strada resigned days after Christa Pike survived a botched execution.
Oct. 3 2026, Updated 1:38 p.m. ET
Tennessee Department of Correction Commissioner Frank Strada is stepping down days after the botched execution of death row inmate Christa Pike, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
Gov. Bill Lee announced Strada's resignation on October 3, as Tennessee moves forward with an independent investigation into what went wrong during the failed lethal injection.
Frank Strada Steps Down
Tennessee has launched an independent review into Christa Pike's failed execution.
Strada submitted his resignation to Lee on October 3, just three days after Pike survived two doses of pentobarbital during her scheduled execution.
The commissioner, who was appointed to lead Tennessee's prison system in 2023, is expected to leave his position later this month.
Lee has not yet announced who will serve as interim commissioner.
'A Great Honor'
Frank Strada said working as commissioner was 'a great honor.'
Despite stepping aside, Strada maintained that he believed prison officials followed the state's established procedures.
Strada said serving as commissioner has been "a great honor," according to a statement obtained by The Tennessean.
"[I] believe the Department carried out its responsibilities in accordance with the established protocol. Even so, stepping aside is in the best interest of Tennesseans as the independent review moves forward," he continued.
"I believe this review is entirely appropriate and necessary, and I look forward to doing everything I can to help determine exactly what occurred," Strada went on.
Christa Pike Remains Hospitalized
An emergency motion blamed the botched execution on improperly placed IV lines.
Pike, 50, was supposed to become the first woman executed in Tennessee in more than two centuries when the procedure was carried out on September 30.
Instead, she survived two doses of the lethal drug and was transported to a hospital for emergency treatment.
Her attorneys said she remains unconscious, intubated, and dependent on a ventilator.
"Apparently at no point did any member of the execution team realize that the IV lines were not correctly placed or that the veins had blown and that the pentobarbital was, in whole or in part, entering Ms. Pike's body," the emergency motion stated, per the outlet.
"Instead of remedying this failure, [the Tennessee Department of Correction] elected to prepare a backup set of syringes (if they were not also prepared earlier that day) and then administered another lethal dose of pentobarbital," it continued.
Pike was sentenced to death for the 1995 killing of her classmate, Colleen Slemmer, who was 19 at the time.
Pike was 18 at the time of the killing.
Christa Pike's Lawyers React to Frank Strada's Resignation
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Christa Pike's attorney's said Frank Strada's resignation was 'justified.'
Pike's attorneys said that Strada's departure was "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.
Lee also halted the remaining executions Tennessee had scheduled for 2026.
