The last few weeks have marked the low point for Gov. Bill Lee's eight years in office as the attempted execution of Christa Pike for the 1995 killing of 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer was botched twice and Pike now remains in custody with an uncertain future.
State Corrections Commissioner Frank Strada will step down later this month after resigning, but Lee did not announce if there is a severance package. Strada oversaw another failed execution attempt earlier this year when Tennessee executioners could not find a vein to complete the lethal injection of Tony Carruthers and did not set up a backup IV line as required. Lee granted Carruthers a one-year reprieve.
Strada had previously worked in Arizona for its corrections department, which was criticized
for serious problems in three of the lethal injections implemented on his watch. One wonders why Lee ever hired him and why the governor stayed silent during the Pike situation? Strada was not available for public comment.
Transparency about executions in Tennessee does not exist.
This situation created unfavorable international attention on Tennessee for inept management. Ultimately the buck stops with the governor, who leaves office in mid-January.
The Republican nominee for governor – U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn – says she will bring back the electric chair. But that will require an act of the legislature. Lee has placed all executions on hold for the rest of his term.
Democratic nominee Jerri Green favors ending the death penalty. Independent candidate David Hatley has limited his comments to social media while Lauren Pinkston's comments can best be described as vague and nonspecific. Her comments do not project confidence or knowledge.
The truth is the next governor will be one of these four candidates (Blackburn is the presumptive winner). The winner inherits a mess from Lee. An inquiry is underway and all of it should be made public.
The symphony in Nashville had suspended most of it current operations due to a financial crisis until Oracle stepped in with a $10 million gift. The symphony here in Knoxville thrives under the leadership of music director Aram Demirjian and CEO Rachel Ford/
Nashville is a much larger city than Knoxville and has more wealth. Knoxville, however, has a symphony with a much broader financial base from a real cross section of the community to sustain its operations. The Knoxville Symphony is well operated, popular and present across the city. Nashville will face the same dire situation soon again unless it starts a serious reform program on finances.
Lauren Pinkston is having trouble winning attention from the media for her gubernatorial campaign as polls show her standing at 2%. The media often ignores candidates so low in polling. Hatley is spending over $7 million of his own money. Blackburn is running ads blasting him. Blackburn would not mention Hatley if her team was not concerned he hurts her.
The next governor of Tennessee likely wins election Nov. 3 with less than 50% of the vote, which is the first time this has happened in Tennessee in more than 120 years.
A new book is out on the life of Cormac McCarthy, who spent the early years of his life here in Knoxville. It is "Cormac McCarthy: A Legacy Revisited" by Tracy Daugherty. It has received favorable reviews in the Wall Street Journal.
Another new book worth reading is "This Cursed Beautiful Land" by journalist Evan Gershkovich on his 16 month imprisonment in Russia.
Oct. 24: Amy Honeycutt is 48. Priscilla Siler is 84. Bradley Maul is 47. Jane Chedester is 76. Philip Howard is 78. Vincent Fusco is 57. Howard Capito is 80. Kerry Williams is 36. University of Tennessee System President Randy Boyd is 67. David Balloff is 72.
Oct. 25: Evelyn Gill is 60. Robert Crye is 84. David Lauver is 77. Municipal Judge Tyler Caviness is 35. Riley Lovingood is 30. Former Nashville Mayor Bill Purcell is 73.
Oct. 26: Jody Collins is 48. Bill Ammons is 46. Mohamed Abbas is 35. State Rep. Sam McKenzie is 61. Peter Sowa III is 82. Maria Cornelius is 64.
Oct. 27: Barbara Ashton Walsh is 97. Dylan Jones is 53. Kyle McCoy is 66.
Oct. 28: Deborah Franklin is 54. Brian DeBusk is 59. Bill Gates is 71. Triston Calhoun is 40. Barbara Boulton is 74. Sheriff Brent Gibson is 53.
Oct. 29: Sam Furrow is 85. Susan Richardson Williams is 81. Dr. James Shamiyeh is 54. Neal Allen is 84. Retired UT music professor David Northington is 79.
Oct. 30: Natalie Stair is 43. Karen Gilbertson is 78. Reico Hopewell is 54. Barton Watkins is 57. Allan Rosenbaum is 59. Former State Rep. Harry Tindell is 66. Steve Hunley is 75. Robert Buswell is 80. Leslie Henderson is 80. Former State Rep. David Coffey is 94.
Victor Ashe is a former Knoxville mayor and former ambassador to Poland. He is a columnist for Shopper News.
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This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Botched Christa Pike execution marks low point for Gov. Bill Lee | Opinion
