Gov. Bill Lee is again tapping former U.S. Attorney Ed Stanton to lead an investigation into Tennessee’s execution protocols.
Lee called for the third-party review after a second failed execution this year. Medical staff unsuccessfully administered two doses of the fatal drug pentobarbital, leaving death row inmate Christa Pike in critical condition but alive at a local hospital.
The current lethal injection process was developed after Stanton’s last review found problems with how the state inspected the drugs it uses to put people to death. Former Tennessee Department of Correction commissioner Frank Strada, who helped design the new process, stepped down from his position Saturday after overseeing five total botched executions — two in Tennessee this year and three previous executions in Arizona.
Stanton’s investigation will determine if the current protocol was followed and evaluate its effectiveness from there. In the meantime, Lee has called off the remaining execution scheduled for this year.
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