Breaking news alert. >> Good evening everyone. Happy Saturday and welcome to our Saturday evening streaming show at 9:00 or 8:30 right now. I’m Diana Roco. Thanks for joining me, your Saturday evening anchor and uh thanks for joining us for all of our streaming episodes as we continue to follow the botched execution here in Nashville of Christa Pike.
She is a woman who is sat on death row here in Tennessee for more than 30 years for a murder in Knoxville in 1995 of 19-year-old Colleen Slmer Wednesday night. Christa was sentenced to die by lethal injection in front of the victim’s family after several stays of execution. A court did rule her execution could go forward by Wednesday morning, and it was scheduled then for Wednesday evening.
But instead, after two lethal injections Wednesday night, something went horribly wrong and she survived that execution. She had to be taken to the hospital where she’s being given life-saving care and she has been there since Wednesday night. We’ve been getting updates on her condition uh over the last couple of days from her attorneys.
Now, uh here is the latest developments today. Tennessee prison chief has announced that he is resigning after two failed executions in five months under his watch. Governor Bill Lee issued a statement today. He announced the first major shakeup since the stunning execution of Christa Pike. Frank Strada, Commissioner of the Department of Correction, will step down later this month.
This is a picture of Frank right here. In a statement, he said he was resigning quote in the best interests of Tennessans. Well, an independent review determines what happened. Just last night, WSMV4 investigative reporter Stacy Cameron explained a bit about Strata’s employment history here and beforehand where he was before in Arizona.
Uh Cameron uh explained a little bit about the history there. Governor Bill Lee hired him here in 2023. Two years later, Tennessee overhauled its execution protocol, putting Stratda in charge of choosing the doctor, picking the IV team, and signing off on lastminute changes in the death chamber before taking the job in Tennessee.
As I mentioned, he was the number two official running Arizona’s prisons. In 2022, Arizona botched three executions while Strada was there. Kit Thomas is a lawyer fighting the state over lethal injection in federal court and she has announced uh asked some pretty big questions about Strata’s role in both failed executions here in Tennessee.
Here’s a look at Stacy Cameron’s report. >> Two failed executions five months apart. In May, Tennessee stopped Tony Kurther’s execution after the team couldn’t find a vein. Then Wednesday, Christa Pike survived two doses of lethal injection drugs. There are a lot of questions. The people of our state deserve to have those questions answered.
>> Questions that bring new focus on Tennessee Department of Corrections Commissioner Frank Strata. Governor Bill Lee hired him in 2023. Two years later, Tennessee overhauled its execution protocol, putting Strata in charge of choosing the doctor, picking the IV team, and signing off on lastminute changes in the death chamber.
>> What happened to Christa Pike? what happened to Tony Kurthers. They weren’t just foreseeable, they were foreseen. >> Kit Thomas is a lawyer fighting Tennessee over lethal injection in federal court. She’s now raising questions about Strada’s role in both the Pike and Kurther’s execution attempts. >> My biggest concern about Frank Strada is that he is overseeing a department of correction that operates behind a veil of secrecy.
Before taking the job in Tennessee, Strata was the number two official running Arizona’s prisons. In 2022, Arizona botched three executions while Strada was there. The fallout triggered a state review that found deep flaws in Arizona’s drugs, staff training, and IV procedures. >> Frank Strata left behind a system in Arizona where they did not practice setting IV lines.
Thomas says Arizona ended up changing its execution protocol to require the training. Tennessee went the other way. >> And with Frank Strad’s arrival in Tennessee, that requirement of the IV team practicing setting IV lines is removed. >> Following the problems with Pikes Feld execution, >> I counted at least seven needles used in her left arm alone, one of which appeared to be bent when it was pulled from her arm.
An independent third-party review ordered by Governor Bill Lee will need to answer if that part of the execution protocol and much more need to change. >> There needs to be public transparency. There needs to be accountability. We’ve been down this road before. >> While Ted Do insists its team followed execution protocol to the latter, Thomas says what happened to Pike is evidence that the protocol and the people carrying it out are failing.
So long as this sort of secrecy pervades the department of correction, Tennessans can’t have faith that the department would be able to carry out executions constitutionally or humanely. >> Tonight, that secrecy continues. We asked Strata in the TDOC if Arizona’s failures shape Tennessee’s protocol, how this IV team was vetted, and what changed after May.
Tox said they’re unable to answer those questions at this time. for WSMV4. I’m investigative reporter Stacy Cameron. >> Okay, again, that was Stacy Cameron reporting. The news today is that Strata has announced he will resign at the end of the month and Governor Bill Lee has thanked him for his service and commissioned that resignation.
Now, you might ask, how is Christa Pike doing? Well, we know that she is in a Nashville area hospital. This execution was taking place at Riverbend Penitentiary. that is in Nashville. So, she was taken to a hospital here shortly after all of this and given life-saving care. We’ve only gotten updates about her condition through her attorneys.
And yesterday, we got a big one when they filed a motion. It was a sevenpage motion. Attorneys for Christa Pike filed an emergency injunction in Davidson County Chancery Court seeking an order requiring the Tennessee Department of Correction to protect and preserve all evidence related to the state’s failed attempt to execute her on Wednesday night.
I have that motion here. It’s about seven pages. Christa remains in the hospital tonight as she has since Wednesday night. They tell us she’s in critical condition. The filing from her attorneys details the serious complications that occurred during that execution attempt. They alleged the lethal drug was not properly placed in a vein.
And according to the filing, no member of the IV injection team realized that at the time. The attorney say Pike was even offering guidance on where the IV team could attempt to find her vein and that one needle, as you previously heard uh the attorney say, was bent in a 90 degree angle when it was removed. The legal team also alleges that the state may have prepared the lethal injections at 8:00 a.m.
that morning when her execution was scheduled, but because of court delays, they were not administered until nearly 12 hours later. They say Pike’s hand and arms were swollen, burned, and blistered when she arrived at the hospital, comparing the lethal injection drug to bleach or Drano. Our Steve Mailing talked to the victim’s family about all of this.
Here’s what they had to say in Steve’s report. Take a look. >> When Christa Pike was taken from Riverbend Maximum Security Institution Wednesday night by ambulance, the family of Colleen Surmer could not believe what had taken place. >> She wanted to get justice. You know, her serving being in prison was not justice. >> Colleen SLMur’s niece, Morgan Sely, says that her grandmother, May Martinez, has not eaten since the botched execution.
She has been hurting for a while. She’s been very upset and now that you know the execution did not go as planned. >> Taking to social media Raul Martinez, the stepfather of Colleen Surmer, who also made the near 10-hour trip to finally close this chapter. He thanked those who helped fund their trip up to see the execution of Christa Pike, but added quote, “Colleen’s soul cannot rest until this monster succumbs to the two doses of penttoarbital that she was given.
” Raul also posted a picture showing the scales of justice with the words justice for Colleen. Morgan says the people overseeing the process need to figure it out. >> They need to get their act together. that they need to stop playing around with, you know, victims families when they know that this case is so brutal.
They need to find out what’s going to happen next. And I’m not talking about two years from now. They need to figure out what’s going to happen to her with the next couple of months. >> Steve Mailing, WS74. So after this quick break, we are going to hear directly from Christa’s attorneys about this botched execution and how they say they foresaw it coming and issued warnings months in advance.
You’re watching our Saturday evening streaming show. Stay with us. We’ll be right back. Welcome back everyone. I’m Diana Roco
and you’re watching our Saturday Evening streaming show. We’ve been talking the last couple of minutes about the botched execution of Christa Pike, and we did hear from her attorneys right after all of this happened, but we haven’t heard from them in person in uh since the very next day.
So, I’m going to take you back now and let you hear from her attorneys in length about the next steps and what they are planning after all of this has transpired. It’s now been several days and Christa Pike remains in critical condition on a ventilator in a Nashville area hospital with somebody wondering what happens next.
This is what her attorneys had to say. Listen. >> Last night was not just inefficient, it was cruel and it was torturous. It was also predictable. Christa’s legal team told the state of Tennessee and the courts that her medical conditions would cause her to suffer an agonizing death. The state and the court dismiss Christa’s concerns.
The governor’s call for an independent review does not go far enough. After having endured solitary confinement for more than 20 years and a full attempt to kill kill her by lethal injection, Christa has endured punishment greater than any other person in the history of the American death penalty. The governor must commute Christa’s sentence now.
Since before Christ could talk, she has suffered at the hands of men and institutions who were at best indifferent to her suffering and at worst the direct cause of it. And last night, the execution team attempted to establish an IV line for an hour. I counted at least seven needles used in her left arm alone, one of which appeared to be bent when it was pulled from her arm after an unsuccessful attempt.
The state continued its efforts despite the very complications that we had warned about in court months earlier. Christa’s spiritual adviser was repeatedly removed from her side from from the execution chamber during the process despite as many of the media have already reported Christa continuing to show signs of life. And this despite what appeared to be two two full doses of the lethal drugs.
The media was it left in the in a dark room, clearly hearing Christa breathe and choke and struggle while the state worked in secrecy. After the second dose of dose of the lethal chemicals and the five-minute waiting period passed, it was clear that Miss Pike was still breathing. I demanded to use a phone to connect to connect with Chris’s legal team to let them know what was happening as best I could. again from a dark room.
The curtains were closed and Miss Pike spiritual advisor had been removed from her side at this point and no one knew what was going on behind that curtain curtain. It took approximately 7 minutes and passage through six locked doors to finally get me to a phone where I could alert Chris’s legal team to what was happening.
But even then, as Steve and I as Steve can talk about, communication remained difficult. That was at about 8:22, a full 40 minutes after the first dose of of chemicals um were given to Christa. Um I was returned to an area near the media room where I demanded that the execution be stopped and that life-saving medical care be given to Christa.
And I did not get any information or confirmation that an ambulance was on its way until 8:50. I had no idea when and if medical professionals began to assist Christa. Um I think Steve will talk now a little bit about what was happening on the outside while while this was happening inside. >> And I’m going to back up just a little bit and talk about the litigation that we conducted in front of the special master who was appointed by the Tennessee Supreme Court and even back up a little further to January of 2026.
So, uh, a full 9 months before the events of last night, almost 10 months in fact, Christa Pike was very concerned that this execution would go exactly the way it ended up coming out. She was not seeking to delay her execution. She was seeking to have that execution performed humanely and as quickly and as painlessly as possible.
to that end because we did not seek a stay of execution and we filed in the Chancery Court of Tennessee to uh especially predict or protect her from her predicted problem of Venus access throughout her life. She’s explained to us that she had trouble with blood draws and we knew from talking with experts that the setting of an intravenous line is much more difficult than a simple blood draw. Her blood draws were difficult.
She has a blood disorder that contributes to that and we knew this was coming. So back in January, we asked that this problem be addressed in a way that there would not lead to the torture that happened last night. That case was dismissed because we didn’t seek a stay from the Tennessee Supreme Court, which we were not seeking.
that forced us to seek a stay from the Tennessee Supreme Court that uh appointed the special master. Again, we presented evidence that due to her uh blood condition, Venus access would be difficult and that this type of uh prolonged execution that she didn’t want to happen would happen. Our medical experts gave that testimony to the the special master who rejected all of our arguments.
We also uh alerted the court to the problem of the telephone access that Randy talked about during the Kurther’s uh botched execution. that attorney had a difficult >> Okay, so there you heard from Christa Pike’s uh legal team as they now address what comes next in these next steps. And they were talking about asking for a full commutation of Christa’s sentence.
As I was listening to this, I couldn’t help but wonder how um Christa’s victim, Colleen Slmer’s family, feels about all of this. Her attorneys are talking about a humane death for Christa, but I wonder if they’re wondering where was the humane death for their daughter and sister, Colleen Slmer. You’ll hear coming up after this break how uh Colleen was murdered.
Christa carved a swastika in her chest and bashed her skull in with a heavy piece of concrete. then allegedly, or I guess she’s admitted to this now, took a piece of her skull to school and was bragging about it because she thought Colleen was stealing her boyfriend. That is the crime that she went to death row for. And uh we are going to tell you more about that coming up.
But again, you just heard from Christa’s legal team. They’re asking the governor to give Christa a full commutation of her sentence. And whether or not that happens or not remains to be seen. We’ll be right back after this quick break. Welcome back. We have been hearing a lot
about what led up to the execution attempt of Christa Pike. She was the first woman in 200 years to be put to death here in Tennessee. For more on how all of this happened in the first place and why she ended up on death row, here’s our Steve Mailing. >> She’s the first woman set to be executed by the state of Tennessee in more than 200 years.
And that’s why Christa Pike’s case is drawing national attention. The then 18-year-old killed her JobCore colleague, Colleen SL back in 1995. Prosecutors say Pike and two others tortured SLMur with Pike eventually throwing a chunk of asphalt at SLM’s head, killing her. The motive. Pike believed SLMur was trying to steal her boyfriend. >> Colleen didn’t like doing things.
She babysat. She loved anything to do with kids, you know. And I think it was part of me cuz I had daycare for 40 years. See, just as it happens to Christa Pike to be put to death, defining stop this. >> Pike is not the first woman ever executed by Tennessee, but she would be the first in the modern death penalty era.
Retired attorney and professor Lewis Laska has studied the death penalty in Tennessee for years. He says he can’t directly compare Pike’s case to older cases because the law has changed. >> You can’t get the death penalty in Tennessee anymore, okay, for merely killing your husband or wife. That’s not the law. It has to be an enhanced killing.
>> The jury found Pike’s crime met that standard. They heard how she lured and killed Slur and how Pike kept a piece of SLmer’s skull as a souvenir, showing it off to classmates before police caught her. >> That’s pretty drastic. Okay. And it’s hard to get past that kind of action. >> And new today, a letter from Christa Pike from inside the prison where she stays, written just weeks ago.
It says she’s at peace. She’s not scared to die, but more so scared of how it will happen. Pike’s attorneys argue her past sexual trauma and mental illness should be reasons to call off the execution. Governor Bill Lee says he will not intervene. The state has agreed to several conditions to make the process easier for Pike, including an all female staff to transport her to Riverbend Prison and extra privacy when she changes and showers.
Steve Mailing, WS74. >> Okay, we’re going to take a quick break and we’ll be right back. You are watching our Saturday night streaming episode. I’m Diana Roco. Stay with us. Welcome back and thank you so much for
joining us tonight. That is going to conclude our Saturday evening streaming episode. We have all of these stories and more up on our website right now along with minute-by-minute developments on wsm.com. Of course, I’d always love to hear from you. Diana.co. Roco at wsmv.com. Continue to follow us for all the latest in this case and don’t forget to join us over on WSMV4 at 10.
We’ll hopefully see you there. Have a great night.
