Tennessee’s latest lethal injection failure is bringing renewed scrutiny to the corrections chief hired three years ago to repair the state’s troubled execution system.
Tennessee Department of Correction Commissioner Frank Strada came to the state in 2023 from Arizona, where he had served as a top corrections official during three lethal injection executions that were later criticized for serious problems.
Now, Strada is at the center of an investigation into Christa Pike's failed execution, which Gov. Bill Lee called "deeply disturbing." He is again overseeing a prison system under review for its execution practices.
Strada was hired after Gov. Bill Lee halted
Tennessee executions in 2022 following revelations that the state had repeatedly failed to follow its own lethal injection protocol, including requirements for obtaining and testing execution drugs.
Shortly after Strada arrived in Tennessee, his former agency in Arizona disclosed there had been troubled executions and protocol failures during his tenure.
Strada had spent three years as one of two Arizona Department of Corrections Rehabilitation and Reentry deputy directors, overseeing prison operations. He directly supervised the assistant director of prison operations, the official tasked with managing executions.
Arizona carried out three lethal injections during Strada’s tenure. In two, execution team members were unable to establish IV access in the prisoners’ arms and instead resorted to femoral access near the groin. Attorneys for one of the men said establishing IV access took about 40 minutes.
After Strada left Arizona, incoming corrections director Ryan Thornell said a review uncovered broader problems with the state’s execution process.
“My inquiries have revealed cause for concern with the department’s present ability to carry out an execution consistent with its constitutional and legal obligations,” Thornell wrote in a March 2023 sworn declaration filed with the Arizona Supreme Court.
Thornell cited concerns about the efficacy and procurement of Arizona’s lethal injection drugs, inadequate documentation and deviations from the state’s execution protocol.
TDOC officials did not respond to questions about the Pike investigation Oct. 2.
He also raised concerns about the compounding pharmacist who supplied the drugs. Court records indicated a deputy director had served as the primary contact with the pharmacist but did not name Strada. Thornell said he could not initially find records identifying the pharmacist or showing a contract for the services, raising concerns about the pharmacist’s qualifications and how the drugs were compounded.
At the time, Tennessee officials defended Strada’s hiring, citing his nearly 35 years of corrections and law enforcement experience and saying he was committed to ensuring execution procedures were followed correctly.
Tennessee resumed executions in 2025 under a new single-drug pentobarbital protocol. Since then, the state has faced two failed execution attempts.
TDOC called off Tony Carruthers’ execution in May after the execution team was unable to establish the IV access required under the protocol.
On Sept. 30, the state administered pentobarbital to Pike, but she remained alive. An ambulance later transported her from Riverbend Maximum Security Institution to an off-site medical facility, where she remained in critical condition as of Oct. 2.
TDOC has maintained that it followed exactly the execution protocol outlined and approved by the Tennessee Attorney General’s Office. The department did not respond to questions or a request for further comment on Oct. 2.
Lee has ordered an independent review of what happened on Sept. 30 and halted executions for the remainder of the year. He stood by Strada and TDOC on Oct. 1, saying the information available to him indicated the department followed its approved protocol.
Strada’s future is also drawing attention as Tennessee prepares to elect its next governor.
Democratic nominee Jerri Green called Friday for Strada’s immediate resignation. Spokespeople for Republican nominee Marsha Blackburn and independent candidates David Hatley and Lauren Pinkstontold the Knoxville News Sentinel that none would retain Strada as corrections commissioner if elected in November.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Christa Pike execution failure renews scrutiny of TDOC chief Frank Strada
