US prison chief who oversaw botched execution resigns

Lawyer Randy Spivey has said he saw seven needles used in just Pike's left arm as execution staff tried to start an IV line, "one of which appeared to be bent when it was pulled from her arm after an unsuccessful attempt."

Tennessee Department of Correction Commissioner Frank Strada will leave his post this month, Governor Bill Lee said in a statement.

Christa Pike, 50, on Wednesday survived two lethal injections of pentobarbital, a drug that suppresses nervous system activity.

Media witnesses listened to her snoring for about an hour after being administered the deadly doses, and said she was alive as they were ushered out of the execution chamber viewing area at the Riverbend Maximum Security Institution in Nashville.

Pike was taken to a hospital where she was "critically ill," unconscious and on a ventilator as medical staff worked to clear the pentobarbital from her system, her lawyers said in a court filing Friday.

Lee said he thanked Strada for "his willingness to put the interests of Tennesseans first during this difficult moment."

Source: Citizen Digital