Failed Execution Review

Former Death Row Inmate Calls Christa Pike's Failed Execution Torture

Former death row inmate, Jonon Taylor, has called Christa Pike's failed execution "torture" and called for clemency. Pike survived two doses of the lethal injection drug pentobarbital, but her arms were burned and blistered. If successful, she would have been the first woman put to death in Tennessee in over 200 years. Taylor was among 37 inmates whose death sentences were commuted to life in prison without parole by former president Joe Biden shortly before leaving office. Governor Bill Lee has ordered an independent review of the department's actions in the execution attempt. Governor Lee also announced that the head of Tennessee’s prison system, Frank Strada, would step down later this month.