TENNESSEE, USA – Tennessee’s top prison official will step down this month following a failed lethal injection that left convicted murderer Christa Pike unconscious and on a ventilator in what experts say is the first time an inmate has survived a full lethal injection procedure in the United States.

Governor Bill Lee announced on Saturday 3 October that Department of Correction commissioner Frank Strada would resign later this month.

The announcement came three days after Pike (50), survived two doses of pentobarbital – a barbiturate that suppresses nervous system activity – administered during her scheduled execution on Wednesday 30 September at the Riverbend Maximum Security Institution in Nashville.

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Prolonged, failed procedure

Media witnesses reported hearing Pike snoring for approximately an hour after the lethal doses were administered and confirmed she was still alive when they were escorted from the viewing area.

Pike was subsequently transported to a hospital, where she remained “critically ill,” unconscious and on a ventilator as medical staff worked to clear the drug from her system, her lawyers said in a court filing submitted on Friday 2 October.

Pike’s legal team had previously warned that the execution’s intravenous protocol would cause needless suffering due to her small veins and a blood condition. Lawyer Randy Spivey reported seeing seven needles used in Pike’s left arm alone as staff attempted to establish an IV line, noting that one needle appeared bent when removed after an unsuccessful attempt.

Medical experts had cautioned that needles could become dislodged or pierce through the vein, causing the pentobarbital to flow into surrounding tissue rather than the bloodstream.

The court filing described pentobarbital as a caustic substance that burns skin, tissue, and veins. Upon arrival at the hospital, both of Pike’s arms were “swollen, burned, and blistered,” according to the filing.

Media witnesses said Pike told execution staff after receiving the injection that her arm felt as if it would “burst open”.

The Death Penalty Information Centre, which tracks capital punishment data in the United States, said Pike is the first inmate ever to survive after being injected with lethal doses of execution drugs.

Resignation and review

Governor Lee, who had previously denied Pike clemency, has halted all further executions in Tennessee through the remainder of the year pending a “comprehensive, third-party review” of the state’s execution protocols.

In his statement, Lee thanked Strada for “his willingness to put the interests of Tennesseans first during this difficult moment”.

Strada, who was appointed commissioner in January 2023, maintained that the department had acted properly, stating: “I continue to believe the Department carried out its responsibilities in accordance with the established protocol.”

Case drew national scrutiny

Pike was 18 years old in 1995 when she and her boyfriend beat and killed Colleen Slemmer (19) at a job training camp. The case drew national attention after Slemmer’s body was found with a pentagram – often associated with satanic symbolism – carved into her chest.

Pike’s lawyers had argued for clemency on the grounds of her young age at the time of the crime, mental health issues, a history of childhood sexual assault and post-traumatic stress disorder. The case had also drawn attention because Pike would have been the first woman executed by the state of Tennessee in more than two centuries.

Since 1976, only 18 women have been executed in the United States, according to the Death Penalty Information Center.

ALSO READ: Tennessee halts executions after woman survives two lethal injections