Tennessee Execution Mishap Raises Concerns Over Prison Official’s Past
Tennessee’s recent botched execution of Christa Pike has brought attention to the state’s prison commissioner, Frank Strada, whose history with similar incidents in Arizona is now under scrutiny. Pike, convicted for the 1995 murder of Colleen Slemmer, survived an execution attempt involving two doses of pentobarbital, leaving her in critical condition at a hospital.
Frank Strada, appointed by Governor Bill Lee in 2023, is at the center of the controversy. Before his role in Tennessee, Strada served as deputy director of the Arizona Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation and Reentry from 2020 to 2022, where he was responsible for overseeing executions and forming execution teams.
Dale Baich, an Arizona State University professor and former federal public defender, highlighted that Arizona witnessed three executions in 2022 after an eight-year hiatus. Among these, two were marred by significant intravenous access issues, echoing Tennessee’s recent problems with Pike and Tony Carruthers. Carruthers’ execution was postponed earlier this year due to similar IV complications.
Baich commented, “And we know that in 2022, there were three executions that were carried out. And two of them had significant IV access problems that occurred in the lead-up to the execution.” He added, “So there’s a history of incompetence.”
Strada refrained from commenting on the matter, with Tennessee Department of Corrections spokeswoman Dorinda Carter stating, “We do not have a comment at this time.”
Governor Lee has halted all executions for the remainder of the year and has called for an independent investigation into the incident, as reported by WPLN News. However, he has not addressed why he appointed Strada or whether he holds any responsibility for the execution failures, according to WSMV 4.
In a statement, Lee said, “The Department of Correction followed exactly the protocol that was outlined, and vetted, and approved by the Attorney General’s Office. At this point, that is all we know. Which is the very reason why we will have an investigation.”
Meanwhile, Arizona resumed executions in 2025 under Governor Katie Hobbs after she prematurely ended a review of the state’s execution procedures. The review, led by retired federal judge David Duncan, concluded that “lethal injection is not a viable method of execution in actual practice,” as reported by KJZZ.
KJZZ’s Lauren Gilger contributed to this report.
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