Governor Bill Lee announced Saturday morning that Correction Commissioner Frank Strada will step down later this month. Lee hasn't named an interim commissioner yet. On Wednesday, Strada's department gave Christa Pike two doses of pentobarbital, and she survived. As of a Friday court filing, Pike was unconscious on a ventilator. Pike was 18 when she killed Colleen Slemmer, a 19-year-old classmate, in 1995. Lee has already called off the last execution the state had scheduled this year. He also ordered an outside review. It was the second failed execution under Strada this year. The first was Tony Carruthers in May.

1. The State Says It Followed the Rules

Lee and Strada say the department did its job. Strada says stepping aside is best while the review moves forward.

Strada says his department followed the rules. "I continue to believe the Department carried out its responsibilities in accordance with the established protocol," he said Saturday. He said stepping aside is "in the best interest of Tennesseans as the independent review moves forward." He called the review "entirely appropriate and necessary."

Lee still praises him. "Commissioner Strada has served with integrity," the governor said. A day earlier, a reporter asked Lee if he was responsible for hiring Strada. Lee said the department "followed exactly the protocol" the attorney general's office approved, and that the investigation would find out the rest. WSMV reported he didn't directly answer the question.

2. But Critics Say Lee Ignored Strada's Arizona Record

Defense lawyers say Strada's record in Arizona was a warning sign that Tennessee ignored.

Strada's Arizona record was a red flag. "When Governor Lee hired Strada to fix execution problems in Tennessee his problematic history of executions in Arizona was well known," said Kit Thomas, a federal public defender in Nashville. Before Tennessee, Strada was deputy director of Arizona's prison system. Arizona carried out three executions in 2022 while he was deputy director. In all three, the team struggled to get IV lines in. In one, it took about 40 minutes.

Arizona should have vetted its team better. "If your job is to access veins, you should be able to do that," said Dale Baich, a lawyer who represented Arizona death row prisoners. He said the department "did not properly vet" its team.

Thomas's office says Tennessee copied Arizona's rules. The office says Tennessee's 2025 protocol closely copied Arizona's abandoned 2022 protocol. Strada also testified that Tennessee never hired the full-time drug expert a 2022 outside review recommended. He called it "a recommendation. It wasn't a requirement."

Even a conservative writer says someone had to answer for this. "This was inevitable; someone had to be called to account for this," wrote Ward Clark at the conservative site RedState.

3. Still, One Resignation Won't Fix the System

Pike's lawyers and death-penalty opponents say the problem is bigger than one man.

Pike's lawyers say the resignation does nothing for her. Her legal team called the resignation "justified, but it does nothing to help Christa now." They called what happened "a systemic failure that goes far beyond any one person." They hope the review exposes "the profound problems within Tennessee's entire death penalty system."

If the rules were followed, the rules are the problem. Senate Democratic Leader Raumesh Akbari made that point Thursday. Thomas says the resignation "does not change the fact that Tennessee is shrouding its executions in secrecy." He wants executions paused until the courts sort it out. Laura Porter, who runs the U.S. Campaign to End the Death Penalty, hopes this is "the beginning of accountability and an end to secrecy."

Some want Tennessee to stop for good. Fordham law professor John Pfaff argues Tennessee shouldn't try to execute Pike again and urges Lee to consider clemency. Jerri Green, a Democrat running for governor, says she'd put a moratorium on all executions.

4. Meanwhile, the Victim's Family Says It Got Nothing

Slemmer's mother says the state owes her an apology. Blackburn says Pike should have died long ago.

Slemmer's mother is still waiting for an apology. May Martinez watched the attempt. On Thursday, she said no one from the state had apologized to her. "I think that the state owes me a big apology," she said. She also said, "I didn't get justice for my daughter." She doesn't think she'd come back if the state tries again.

Blackburn wants the electric chair back. U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn, a Republican running for governor, said Thursday that Pike "should have been executed long ago." She said the failure is "extending the pain" for Slemmer's family. She wants Tennessee to "bring back the electric chair and deliver justice for these victims swiftly."

Where This Lands

Strada is leaving, but he and Lee both say the department followed its protocol. Thomas says Strada's troubled Arizona record was well known when Lee hired him. Pike's lawyers and opponents say one resignation won't fix a system with deeper problems and too much secrecy. Slemmer's mother says she still hasn't gotten justice or an apology. Blackburn wants the electric chair back. Tennessee hasn't said whether it will try to execute Pike again.

Sources