The head of Tennessee’s prison system is resigning after the failed execution of Christa Pike. The announcement was made Saturday by Gov. Bill Lee, who calls the circumstances a “difficult moment.” Tennessee Department of Correction Commissioner Frank Strada says stepping aside is in the best interests of the state as a review looks at why Pike’s execution failed Wednesday. Pike’s lawyers say she was placed on a ventilator and was unconscious in a hospital. The lawyers say medical staff were trying to clear two doses of a drug that the state uses to execute prisoners.
