The Tennessee prison chief who oversaw the failed execution of Christa Pike has resigned, Gov. Bill Lee announced.

Frank Strada, commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Correction, submitted his resignation and will leave the post later this month, Lee said in a statement Saturday. The state plans to name an interim commissioner.

The leadership change follows Wednesday’s botched lethal injection, which left 50-year-old Pike on a ventilator after officials failed to execute her.

According to a court filing, medical staff used at least seven needles while trying to administer two lethal doses of pentobarbital.

“At one point, Ms Pike herself offered guidance on where the IV team could attempt access; one needle was bent at a 90-degree angle when it was removed,” the motion said.

Her attorneys said Pike received two sets of syringes containing the execution drug and could be heard crying, whimpering and breathing heavily during the procedure.

At one point, Pike reportedly said, “My arm feels like it’s about to burst open.” She later asked, “Does this happen like that?”

As of Thursday night, Pike remained in critical condition at a Nashville-area hospital. Her attorneys said she was “intubated, on a ventilator, and remains unconscious.”

Pike had spent 30 years on death row after being convicted of killing her Knoxville Job Corps classmate, Colleen Slemmer, in 1995.

Strada called his service as commissioner a “great honor” and said he continued to believe the department had fulfilled its responsibilities under established protocol.

“Even so, stepping aside is in the best interest of Tennesseans as the independent review moves forward,” he said.

“I believe this review is entirely appropriate and necessary, and I look forward to doing everything I can to help determine exactly what occurred.”

Lee said Strada had “served with integrity” and praised his decision to put Tennessee residents’ interests first during the crisis.

“I have accepted his decision to step down and am grateful for his commitment to ensuring a smooth leadership transition. I thank Commissioner Strada for his dedicated service to Tennessee and pray God’s blessings over him in the days ahead,” Lee said.

Strada joined the state Department of Correction in 2023. Before that, he worked for Arizona’s corrections department, where he oversaw three lethal injections that were later criticized because of problems during the procedures, The Tennessean reported.

Pike’s legal team, meanwhile, contends that the Tennessee Department of Correction failed her.

Her lawyers wrote that upon arrival at the hospital, both of her arms were swollen, burned, and blistered from the drug, which they compared to bleach or Drano, the chemical used to clear clogged household drains and pipes.

Pike’s attorneys said they believed problems with the IV lines caused the pentobarbital to flow into her body instead of her bloodstream.

‘Apparently at no point did any member of the execution team realize that the IV lines were not correctly placed or that the veins had blown and that the pentobarbital was, in whole or in part, entering Ms Pike’s body,’ the lawyers wrote in the court filing.

They wrote that instead of ‘remedying this failure,’ they prepared and administered a backup set of pentobarbital syringes.

Her lawyers are seeking to have all of the evidence from her botched execution preserved so they can ensure accountability and protect her legal rights.

‘We are working closely with those closest to Christa to respect her wishes, safeguard her privacy and protect her rights as a patient during this extraordinarily difficult time,’ said Luke Ihnen, attorney for Pike with Federal Defender Services of Eastern Tennessee.

‘We ask that the public and the media respect that privacy as well.’

The court filing emphasized that Pike previously filed an appeal claiming her execution would result in cruel and unusual punishment because of her individual physical characteristics, including thrombocytosis, post-traumatic stress disorder, and small veins.

Pike received the death sentence in 1996 and would have been the first woman to be executed in Tennessee in over 200 years.

Instead, the case marks the second botched execution in Tennessee this year, and Governor Bill Lee halted any additional executions for the year and ordered ‘a comprehensive, third-party review to determine exactly what occurred.’

The state’s execution protocol calls for a secondary set of drug syringes to be administered ‘if the inmate is not deceased’ after the first set. It does not spell out what happens if the subject is alive after the second set.

Tennessee announced in 2024 that it was switching from a three-drug series for lethal injections to the single drug pentobarbital.

In 1996, Pike and her boyfriend, Tadaryl Shipp, stabbed and beat Slemmer to death on the University of Tennessee’s Agricultural campus.

The two carved a pentagram into Slemmer’s chest, and Pike took a piece of her skull as a souvenir, according to investigators.

Shipp, who was 17 at the time of the killing, was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole due to his age.

Sources close to one of the adult entertainers involved in the Sydney Swans hotel controversy say reporting an alleged sexual assault to police has carried a devastating personal toll.

The woman, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, is reportedly struggling with severe paranoia and financial pressure and has been admitted to hospital twice.

The revelations emerged as Isaac Heeney, one of the players dubbed the ‘Pullman Five’, was named the Sydney Swans’ ‘Best and Fairest’ at the club’s end-of-season awards on Thursday.

Heeney, Chad Warner, Nick Blakey, James Jordon and Riley Bice attended a party at Melbourne’s Pullman East Melbourne hotel on August 17. Three adult entertainers later told police they had been sexually assaulted.

Police subsequently opened an investigation, while the five players were stood down for the remainder of the AFL season after breaching the Swans’ code of conduct by drinking and bringing women back to their hotel.

No charges have been laid, and the Daily Mail does not suggest the players are personally under investigation. Bice was cleared by police in early September and is now being treated solely as a witness.

Although the club imposed sanctions, all five players remained eligible for its awards. The Swans also replaced the traditional ‘Best and Fairest’ title for the Bob Skilton Medal with ‘Most Valuable Player’.

Heeney’s award was understood to have further upset the three women involved in the widely publicised case. It came after reports of a growing view in AFL and legal circles that sexual assault charges could prove difficult to prosecute following a review of statements.

The women cannot be named by the media, but friends say they are distressed by the investigation’s slow progress and believe a smear campaign has been directed at them.

“One told me it’s been the worst month of her life,” an insider said.

“They are all paranoid. They don’t know who they can trust or what is happening with the investigation.

“Then this award [for Heeney]… of course they are upset. Seeing him publicly celebrated is frustrating.”

Despite laws preventing the media from identifying them, the friend said numerous personal details had appeared online, leaving all three women living as though they were “in witness protection”.

“They are worried someone may recognise them, and they can’t take private bookings for topless waitressing or stripping jobs because of that,” the friend added.

“That has had a knock-on effect because it is how they earn money, and I know one of the girls is almost broke.”

The friend also said the women don’t know who they can trust after reports emerged that police had seized secret audio files recorded without their knowledge.

The recordings are believed to have been made without the women’s knowledge or consent and allegedly capture the strippers’ account of what transpired in the hotel room, as well as discussions about what steps the women planned to take afterwards.

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‘They are under a lot of stress and one of the girls in particular is really struggling and has been admitted to hospital twice,’ they said.

‘The first time was just days after the booking. She had suffered a medical episode during her [lap dance] performance and fled the room to get some air.

‘She actually ended up being rushed to hospital for that.’

The friend also told the Daily Mail the same girl was again admitted to hospital on another occasion due to stress.

The exact nature of the women’s untested sexual assault allegations has never been confirmed by police. However, the Mail understands that one of the women claims she was slapped four times on the buttocks but was only paid for three.

The players have always maintained their innocence and the Mail does not suggest they engaged in any wrongdoing.

While the suspended players did not attend Thursday’s event, the club publicly backed their legal position, with Swans chairman Andrew Pridham saying they should be afforded the ‘presumption of innocence’ despite being stood down.

‘This decision reflected only on their breach of club standards and behaviour,’ he said.

‘At no time have we made any judgement on the allegations currently before police, as this is a separate matter.

‘And as we know, the players strenuously deny the allegations.’

As Heeney’s name was read out, many in attendance stood, clapped and cheered.

In an emotional video message played after he was named the Bob Skilton Medal winner for 2026, Heeney said he is ‘truly sorry’ for his role in the scandal that engulfed Sydney last month.

‘When I was told about this honour, it was the first time I smiled and felt positive about the future in a long time,’ he said.

‘I want to say to everyone – in particular my teammates, the Swans players, the AFLW, and the staff – from the depths of my heart, I’m truly sorry for putting you through the extreme difficulty you’ve had to endure, as it’s had a huge impact on our club.

‘Every single day I was away from the club was heartbreaking, knowing that I couldn’t make a contribution. Every single day, I think about what could have been.

‘I’m incredibly excited about what this group can do. I can’t wait to get back to training with the boys, get better, and tackle next year together.’

This week, the Mail revealed Heeney had been dumped by fiancée Steffie Waters, with a source close to the former WAG saying she had called off their engagement.

Friends claimed Waters’ decision stemmed from her own relationship boundaries and was no reflection on the allegations.