Tennessee prisons chief resigns after reported failed execution

Tennessee Governor Bill Lee announced on Saturday that the head of the state’s prison administration had resigned, according to the account provided.

The resignation was linked to a reported failed attempt to execute prisoner Christa Pike by lethal injection.

The account said Pike survived two lethal injections. It did not describe how the injections were administered or explain why the reported execution attempt failed.

The departing official was not identified in the supplied information, which also gave no details about a successor. The reported execution attempt and resignation have not been independently verified.