The head of Tennessee's Department of Corrections is preparing to resign after the failed execution of Krista Pike, a convicted murderer, despite administering two lethal injections.
On 3 Oct 2026 GMT+7, Frank Strada, Commissioner of Tennessee's Department of Corrections, announced his resignation following the failed execution of Krista Pike, the state's only female death row inmate, last Wednesday. The lethal injection failed twice, leaving her critically injured.
In a statement, Strada said his resignation was for the "best interest" of the state and noted that the ongoing investigation into the failed execution of Krista Pike "is appropriate and absolutely necessary."
Pike was injected with two high doses of pentobarbital but did not die. Lawyers reported that during the execution she was crying, sobbing, and breathing loudly the entire time before being rushed to a Nashville hospital. She remains unconscious, is on a ventilator, and doctors are working to remove the poison from her body.
Following the incident, Tennessee Governor Bill Lee ordered an independent investigation and suspended all executions in the state for the remainder of the year.
Pike's legal team filed an emergency motion to preserve all evidence related to the case and requested a stay of execution. Previously, her lawyers had warned about her high platelet count and small blood vessels, which could cause the lethal injection to fail and inflict severe suffering.
Krista Pike was sentenced to death in 1996 at the age of 18 for the 1995 murder of 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer. Pike and her boyfriend had brutally tortured and assaulted the victim, including carving a pentagram on her chest.
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Source:bbc