It was the second failed execution in Tennessee this year. The southern US state halted an execution in May after medical staff failed to tap a vein in the prisoner’s arm.
Christa Pike at her trial in 1996. Photo / Supplied
Lee said he thanked Strada for “his willingness to put the interests of Tennesseans first during this difficult moment”.
In the same statement, Strada said: “I continue to believe the Department [of Correction] carried out its responsibilities in accordance with the established protocol”.
Lee, who previously denied Pike clemency, has halted further executions through the rest of the year while a review is conducted.
Had the drugs killed Pike, she would have been the first woman executed by the state in more than two centuries.
In the US, only 18 women have been executed since 1976, according to the Death Penalty Information Centre.
– AFP