Johnson: Senate already asking questions about failed executions

(The Center Square) – The Tennessee Senate will look at recent issues with executions when it returns to work in January, building on conversations that a committee was already engaged in before the failed attempt involving Christa Gail Pike, Lt. Gov.-elect Jack Johnson tells The Center Square.

Two executions failed in 2026, according to information from the Department of Correction. Pike survived her execution on Sept. 30 and was transferred to the infirmary ward at the Debra K. Johnson Rehabilitation Center in Nashville on Oct. 10, her attorneys said.

What happened in the execution room is still under investigation.

She was sentenced to death for the 1995 murder of 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer, according to information from the department. The Department of Correction called for lifesaving measures for Pike after she was still breathing following two doses of the execution drug pentobarbital, according to her attorneys.

The department also stopped the execution of Tony Carruthers in May because medical personnel could not find a vein. He is housed in the Riverbend Maximum Security Institution in Nashville. Carruthers was convicted of murder in 1996 for the deaths of Marcellos Anderson, his mother, Delois Anderson and Frederick Tucker, according to the Department of Correction.

Johnson, nominated by the Senate Republican Caucus to serve as lieutenant governor, said the Senate Correction subcommittee was engaged in conversations before the most recent failed execution.

"They are meeting and talking with experts," the Franklin Republican said in an interview with The Center Square. "Gov. Lee appropriately has asked for a review as well, looking at other states. Why are other states that have used lethal injection not having some of the problems that we've had?"

Second-term Republican Gov. Bill Lee appointed former U.S. Attorney Ed Stanton, who also reviewed the state's lethal execution protocol in 2022, to handle an investigation into what happened in Pike's failed execution.

The Department of Correction did not respond, prior to publication, to questions from The Center Square asking about the cost of the execution drugs or how much is spent daily on housing inmates.

Department of Correction Commissioner Frank Strada resigned on Oct. 3, just days after Pike's failed execution, according to Gov. Bill Lee's office. He was paid $21,160 a month, or $253,920 annually, according to the Transparent Tennessee website. Strada was appointed by Lee in January 2023.

Christopher Hansen, who oversees the department's probation and parole operations, will serve as interim commissioner and retain his current duties, Lee said Oct. 30.

The Center Square was unsuccessful prior to publication obtaining an interview with Hansen.

Johnson said a look at other execution methods, including the electric chair and firing squad, is on the table.

House Speaker Cameron Sexton said the Legislature is likely to look at legislation on the death penalty in 2027.

"We're going to take a look at it, do some investigation into it, like the process and procedure, like why did they not hook up an essential line instead of trying to get an IV, things like that," Sexton said in a previous interview with The Center Square during an Oct. 28 stop in Ooltewah. "Does that need to be a law changed, does that need to be an internal process? Also, why are pharmaceutical companies not allowing us to have a broader mix of potential lethal injection drugs we can use?"

A Beacon Poll released Thursday shows support for the death penalty remains high, but about half said the failed execution changed their views.

Eighty-four percent of respondents said they were aware of the recent failed execution. The poll shows that 72% of those surveyed supported the death penalty for first-degree murder, while 22% did not. The other 6% were undecided.

Forty-six percent said the failed execution did not change their feelings about the death penalty. Twenty-five percent said they were more supportive, and 26% said they were less supportive. Three percent said they were not sure.

"I think it's one of those issues where voters are pretty entrenched," said Justin Owens, CEO of the Beacon Center of Tennessee, which conducted the poll, in an interview with The Center Square. "They have strong feelings about it, one way or the other, and things like that aren't going to change it that much despite significant national and public attention."

The Beacon Poll of 1,200 registered voters was conducted between Oct. 24 and Nov. 3. It has a margin of error of +/- 2.77%.