How a Tennessee execution gone wrong connects to Arizona’s capital punishment troubles

Christa Pike, 50, remained in critical condition after Tennessee halted her execution Wednesday night when technicians spent roughly an hour attempting to place an IV catheter, the state's second botched execution this year. Attorneys found that Tennessee's execution protocol contains language copied from Arizona's 2022 protocol, which was marked by similarly prolonged, failed attempts at IV access during executions overseen by the same official, Frank Strada.

Strada oversaw three Arizona executions in 2022 before becoming head of Tennessee's Corrections Department in 2023, ostensibly to improve execution procedures. Attorney Kit Thomas found the Tennessee protocol actually relaxed standards from Arizona's flawed version, including broadening when executioners can resort to femoral catheterization, a procedure of last resort elsewhere.

Tennessee officials said the department followed every step of its lawful protocol and that the lethal injection drug has consistently been effective. Pike's attorneys say she had a lifelong blood disorder and had predicted exactly this outcome before the execution began.

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