{"id":2177582,"date":"2026-10-03T15:55:44","date_gmt":"2026-10-03T12:55:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2177582"},"modified":"2026-10-03T15:55:44","modified_gmt":"2026-10-03T12:55:44","slug":"tennessee-prison-chief-resigning-after-botched-christa-pike-execution","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2177582","title":{"rendered":"Tennessee Prison Chief Resigning After Botched Christa Pike Execution"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>[analyse_image type=&#8221;featured&#8221; src=&#8221;https:\/\/imagez.tmz.com\/image\/7a\/16by9\/2026\/10\/03\/7a2c2d8d02ce40aa99dc6e4208e4cd7a_xl.jpg&#8221;]<\/p>\n<article class=\"article article--permalink \">\n<header class=\"article__header\">\n<h1 class=\"article__header--headline-title\">Tennessee Prison Chief Resigning After Botched Christa Pike Execution<\/h1>\n<h2 class=\"article__header--headline-fragments\"><span class=\"article__header--hf1 text-uppercase h3\">Tennessee Prison Chief<\/span><span class=\"article__header--hf2 text-uppercase h1\">I&#8217;m Resigning After Botched Christa Pike Execution<\/span><\/h2>\n<div class=\"social-media-container\" role=\"region\">\n<ul class=\"social social--sm\">\n<li>\n<div class=\"media-swipe\">Breaking News<\/div>\n<\/li>\n<li class=\"social-item\">\n<li class=\"social-item\">\n<li class=\"social-item\"><\/ul>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/preferences\/source?q=tmz.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" class=\"google-preferred-btn js-track-link\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"google-preferred-btn__icon\" src=\"https:\/\/static.tmz.com\/tmz-web\/img\/article\/google-icon.svg\" alt=\"Google\" loading=\"lazy\"><span class=\"google-preferred-btn__title\">Add TMZ on Google<\/span><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"byline\">By <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tmz.com\/pages\/about\/\">TMZ Staff<\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"date-wrapper\">\n                                                                        Published <time class=\"published-datetime\" datetime=\"2026-10-03T08:55:44-07:00\"><br \/>\n                              October 3, 2026<br \/>\n                            8:55 AM PDT<\/time><span class=\"divider\">|<\/span><br \/>\n                                                                Updated <time class=\"updated-datetime\" datetime=\"2026-10-03T09:26:51-07:00\"><br \/>\n                                  October 3, 2026<br \/>\n                                9:26 AM PDT<\/time><\/div>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"article__blocks clearfix\">\n<section id=\"cb-da49e45b1635786d18df9bf4b63b5e24\" class=\"canvas-block canvas-block-permalink canvas-image-block canvas-image-block-permalink canvas-image-block--default  canvas-block-is-first \">\n<div class=\"image-block\"><a class=\"js-click-image js-track-link image-lightbox-preview\" data-node-ref=\"tmz:image-asset:image_jpg_20261003_7a2c2d8d02ce40aa99dc6e4208e4cd7a\" data-container-ref=\"tmz:article:0f5a722d-f8a5-457f-9073-f34cb58d056a\" data-context=\"{&quot;section&quot;:&quot;permalink&quot;,&quot;name&quot;:&quot;image&quot;}\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"img-wrapper\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" loading=\"eager\" src=\"https:\/\/imagez.tmz.com\/image\/7a\/4by3\/2026\/10\/03\/7a2c2d8d02ce40aa99dc6e4208e4cd7a_md.jpg\" alt=\"christina-pike-reuters-1\" width=\"728\" height=\"546\" class=\"img-fluid image-block__img-fluid img-aspect-auto\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"image-block__card-footer\"><span class=\"media-credit image-block__media-credit\">Reuters<\/span><\/div>\n<p><\/a><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<section id=\"cb-2a06966d98655e9e72cf33baff2de7cb\" class=\"canvas-block canvas-block-permalink canvas-text-block canvas-text-block-permalink canvas-text-block--default  \" data-context=\"{&quot;section&quot;:&quot;permalink&quot;,&quot;name&quot;:&quot;text_block&quot;}\">\n<p>Tennessee&#8217;s prison chief is stepping down just days after the failed execution of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tmz.com\/people\/christa-pike\/\" rel=\"noreferrer\"><strong>Christa Pike<\/strong><\/a> left her on a ventilator.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section id=\"cb-98aee90f5519354a3d1828378f0ddca5\" class=\"canvas-block canvas-block-permalink canvas-text-block canvas-text-block-permalink canvas-text-block--default  \" data-context=\"{&quot;section&quot;:&quot;permalink&quot;,&quot;name&quot;:&quot;text_block&quot;}\">\n<p>Tennessee Department of Correction Commissioner <strong>Frank Strada <\/strong>said that his resignation &#8220;is in the best interests&#8221; of the state &#8230; as it conducts a third-party review of why the execution was botched.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section id=\"cb-0c520c2d808ff5adfe0d9a3350a2c1ff\" class=\"canvas-block canvas-block-permalink canvas-image-block canvas-image-block-permalink canvas-image-block--default  \">\n<div class=\"image-block\"><a class=\"js-click-image js-track-link image-lightbox-preview\" data-node-ref=\"tmz:image-asset:image_jpg_20261003_408d4a7b512940c1b9fb810cc4af0beb\" data-container-ref=\"tmz:article:0f5a722d-f8a5-457f-9073-f34cb58d056a\" data-context=\"{&quot;section&quot;:&quot;permalink&quot;,&quot;name&quot;:&quot;image&quot;}\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"img-wrapper\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/imagez.tmz.com\/image\/40\/4by3\/2026\/10\/03\/408d4a7b512940c1b9fb810cc4af0beb_md.jpg\" alt=\"Frank-Strada-ap-1\" width=\"728\" height=\"546\" class=\"img-fluid image-block__img-fluid img-aspect-auto\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"image-block__card-footer\"><span class=\"media-credit image-block__media-credit\">AP<\/span><\/div>\n<p><\/a><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<section id=\"cb-9f4d1b46799045e6c1532df51f94acf9\" class=\"canvas-block canvas-block-permalink canvas-text-block canvas-text-block-permalink canvas-text-block--default  \" data-context=\"{&quot;section&quot;:&quot;permalink&quot;,&quot;name&quot;:&quot;text_block&quot;}\">\n<p>Tennessee Governor <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tmz.com\/people\/bill-lee\/\" rel=\"noreferrer\"><strong>Bill Lee<\/strong><\/a> &#8212; who announced the resignation Saturday &#8212; also spoke out about the decision for Strada to step aside, saying he was &#8220;grateful for his commitment&#8221; to ensure a smooth transition.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section id=\"cb-80df10ce04a096f6f4fe8d42bd18aa01\" class=\"canvas-block canvas-block-permalink canvas-text-block canvas-text-block-permalink canvas-text-block--default  \" data-context=\"{&quot;section&quot;:&quot;permalink&quot;,&quot;name&quot;:&quot;text_block&quot;}\">\n<p>Lee said &#8230; &#8220;I appreciate his willingness to put the interests of Tennesseans first during this difficult moment.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section id=\"cb-804e91c517b73b9ee8b6ae1568a24a27\" class=\"canvas-block canvas-block-permalink canvas-video-block canvas-video-block-permalink canvas-video-block--default  \">\n<div class=\"video-block\">\n<div class=\"ratio ratio-16x9\">\n<div id=\"video-player-e4abf7c3-2b89-470a-aeb0-9bb20074c53a-1671933917-image-holder\" class=\"ratio ratio-item video-block__image-holder\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/imagez.tmz.com\/image\/a3\/16by9\/2026\/10\/01\/a39e61bc4ce3406b859b91ec5f282d89_md.png\" alt=\"100126 tori gessner kal\" width=\"728\" height=\"410\" class=\"img-fluid\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<footer id=\"video-player-e4abf7c3-2b89-470a-aeb0-9bb20074c53a-1671933917-footer\" class=\"media-footer video-block__media-footer\"><span class=\"media-launch-text video-block__media-launch-text\">from the inside<\/span><\/footer>\n<div class=\"video-block__media-info\">\n<div class=\"video-block__media-permalink\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.tmz.com\/watch\/christa-pike-botched-execution-witness-10-01-2026\/\">Video: Tori Gessner Describes What She Saw During Botched Execution<\/a><\/div>\n<p><span class=\"media-credit video-block__media-credit\">TMZ.com<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<section id=\"cb-6bcb082a66de641295c4fac31e4903e4\" class=\"canvas-block canvas-block-permalink canvas-text-block canvas-text-block-permalink canvas-text-block--default  \" data-context=\"{&quot;section&quot;:&quot;permalink&quot;,&quot;name&quot;:&quot;text_block&quot;}\">\n<p>Strada&#8217;s resignation comes after 2 <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tmz.com\/2026\/09\/30\/christa-pike-still-alive-after-attempted-executions\/\" rel=\"noreferrer\"><strong>lethal injections<\/strong><\/a> during Pike&#8217;s execution left her snoring and unconscious. <strong>Tori Gessner<\/strong> &#8212; an anchor for WKRN news in Tennessee &#8212; joined us on &#8220;TMZ Live&#8221; Thursday, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tmz.com\/2026\/10\/01\/tori-gessner-tells-tmz-about-the-noises-she-heard-during-botched-execution\/\" rel=\"noreferrer\"><strong>detailing<\/strong><\/a> the disturbing situation as she saw it.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<section id=\"cb-e5efcca819149b5baf937b63bc2e2b1e\" class=\"canvas-block canvas-block-permalink canvas-text-block canvas-text-block-permalink canvas-text-block--default  canvas-block-is-last \" data-context=\"{&quot;section&quot;:&quot;permalink&quot;,&quot;name&quot;:&quot;text_block&quot;}\">\n<p>Pike&#8217;s legal team has since shared that their client is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.tmz.com\/2026\/10\/02\/christa-pike-on-ventilator-after-botched-execution\/\" rel=\"noreferrer\"><strong>on a ventilator<\/strong><\/a> and remains unconscious.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"row\">\n<div class=\"col-12\">\n<ul class=\"social social--permalink\">\n<li class=\"social__item social__item--3items\"><a class=\"btn social__btn social__btn--facebook js-track-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tmz.com\/2026\/10\/03\/tennessee-prison-chief-resigns-after-botched-christa-pike-execution\/\" data-node-ref=\"tmz:article:0f5a722d-f8a5-457f-9073-f34cb58d056a\" data-context=\"{&quot;section&quot;:&quot;main&quot;,&quot;name&quot;:&quot;facebook-footer&quot;,&quot;pos&quot;:1}\"><br \/>\n                Share<span class=\"social__hide-sm\"> on Facebook<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"social__item social__item--3items\"><a class=\"btn social__btn social__btn--x js-track-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tmz.com\/2026\/10\/03\/tennessee-prison-chief-resigns-after-botched-christa-pike-execution\/\" data-node-ref=\"tmz:article:0f5a722d-f8a5-457f-9073-f34cb58d056a\" data-context=\"{&quot;section&quot;:&quot;main&quot;,&quot;name&quot;:&quot;twitter-footer&quot;,&quot;pos&quot;:2}\"><br \/>\n                Share<span class=\"social__hide-sm\"> on X<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"social__item social__item--3items\"><\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<section class=\"related-articles\">\n<header class=\"card-section-header related-articles__card-section-header\">\n<h3 class=\"card-section-title related-articles__card-section-title\">\n              Related articles<br \/>\n            <\/h3>\n<\/header>\n<div class=\"row related-articles__row\">\n<div class=\"col related-articles__col\">\n<article class=\"related-articles__card\"><a class=\"related-articles__card-link js-track-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tmz.com\/2026\/10\/03\/christa-pike-gave-last-meal-pizza-money-to-the-homeless\/\" data-node-ref=\"tmz:article:0f5a722d-f8a5-457f-9073-f34cb58d056a\" data-context=\"{&quot;section&quot;:&quot;main&quot;,&quot;name&quot;:&quot;related-article&quot;,&quot;pos&quot;:1}\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"related-articles__card-img ratio\">\n<div class=\"ratio-item\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/imagez.tmz.com\/image\/7d\/16by9\/2026\/10\/03\/7dd9702275db4619bd3421d2c0124cd1_xs.jpg\" alt=\"Christa-Pike-reuters-1\" width=\"300\" height=\"169\" class=\"img-fluid\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"related-articles__card-body\">\n<h4 class=\"related-articles__card-title\">\n                        Christa Pike Gave Last Meal Money To Buy Pizza For The Homeless<br \/>\n                      <\/h4>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/a><\/article>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"col related-articles__col\">\n<article class=\"related-articles__card\"><a class=\"related-articles__card-link js-track-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.tmz.com\/2026\/10\/02\/christa-pike-botched-execution-doctor-explains-what-mightve-gone-wrong\/\" data-node-ref=\"tmz:article:0f5a722d-f8a5-457f-9073-f34cb58d056a\" data-context=\"{&quot;section&quot;:&quot;main&quot;,&quot;name&quot;:&quot;related-article&quot;,&quot;pos&quot;:2}\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"related-articles__card-img ratio\">\n<div class=\"ratio-item\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/imagez.tmz.com\/image\/a4\/16by9\/2026\/10\/02\/a404e638f32e4097810cd6d36e86c8ee_xs.jpg\" alt=\"dr. 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src=&#8221;https:\/\/imagez.tmz.com\/image\/7a\/16by9\/2026\/10\/03\/7a2c2d8d02ce40aa99dc6e4208e4cd7a_xl.jpg&#8221;] Tennessee Prison Chief Resigning After Botched Christa Pike Execution Tennessee Prison ChiefI&#8217;m Resigning After Botched Christa Pike Execution Breaking News Add TMZ on Google By TMZ Staff Published October 3, 2026 8:55 AM PDT| Updated October 3, 2026 9:26 AM PDT Reuters Tennessee&#8217;s prison chief is stepping down just days after the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[226,77],"class_list":["post-2177582","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics","tag-crawlmanager","tag-tmz-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2177582","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2177582"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2177582\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2177582"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2177582"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2177582"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}