Tennessee Governor Bill Lee announced on Saturday that the commissioner of the state’s Department of Corrections, Frank Strada, will resign following the failed execution of death row inmate Christa Pike on Wednesday.
Strada said in a statement that stepping down is "in the best interests" of the state and praised the investigation into the incident as "entirely appropriate and necessary."
Pike, who was sentenced to death in 1996 for the murder of Colleen Slemmer, survived two lethal injections and is now in critical condition at a Tennessee hospital as her lawyers seek to commute her death sentence.
The botched execution— the first successful execution in the state in 20 years— has reignited debate over Tennessee’s capital punishment system and the humane administration of the death penalty.
Strada will work with Governor Lee during the transition and the state will appoint a new commissioner to oversee the department amid ongoing scrutiny.
