Top prison official in Tennessee resigns over failed Pike execution

The head of Tennessee's prison system is resigning after the failed execution of Christa Pike, Governor Bill Lee announced Saturday.

Tennessee Department of Correction Commissioner Frank Strada said stepping aside is in the best interest of the state

as an independent review is carried out to determine why Pike's execution failed Wednesday.

Pike was placed on a ventilator and remained unconscious in a hospital.

Her lawyers said, hospital staff were working to save Pike's life trying to clear the two doses of the drug that the state uses to execute prisoners.