The lone woman on Tennessee’s death row was still alive after she was administered two lethal injections, her lawyer said in a motion seeking to halt her execution Wednesday night, a stunning development after the Supreme Court had stepped in to allow the state to put her to death.
At 8:26 p.m. local time, witnesses said “executioners had injected both syringes of lethal injection chemicals” and Christa Pike was “still alive and snoring,” her lawyers said in a federal court filing.
They said Pike “has not lost consciousness and still has a heartbeat” and that curtains to the death chamber “have gone down twice.”
TN is using 1 drug when the requirement is 3. It is gonna happen.
Just a reminder that Tennessee has botched so much of this case for decades. There’s no doubt that this woman is guilty, but for fuck’s sake, look at this from Wikipedia:
Slemmer’s mother repeatedly asked Tennessee authorities to return the fragment of skull for proper burial, but it remained in the state’s possession as evidence. Authorities stated it would not be returned while the case remained open, awaiting Pike’s execution. In a documentary that premiered September 2026 ahead of Pike’s potential execution, Dead Woman Walking: Pike vs. Tennessee, Slemmer’s mother, May Martinez, confirmed that after 16 years of fighting and writing letters, she had received the skull from the state of Tennessee but has still not received “the last piece of her daughter’s skull.”
Yeah, that’s right, the State of Tennessee still has a piece of the victim’s skull and refuses to give it back to the family. The people who tell you that this was satanic are keeping a piece of the victim’s body as a trophy. Sounds like they would know…
They lost it most likely. There is no need to await execution. The trial is done.
"But your honor the sentence has indeed been carried out and state has no further business with client, I expect their release tomorrow "
“No no no we’re going to try to kill her again but we’re going to try harder this time. What could possibly go wrong?”
At this point, I’d just let her rot.
charly kirk only took one lethal injection and died. What a loser.
well it was technically a firing squad unofficially.
Rapid arterial depressurization due to Ballistic lead injection.
Sounds like cruel and unusual punishment to me
She was convicted of torturing a teenage girl to death.
Cruel and unusual punishment is flatly unethical, no debating it.
Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch wrote the landmark majority opinion regarding lethal injection in the 2019 case Bucklew v. Precythe
In a 5–4 decision split along ideological lines, Gorsuch ruled that the Eighth Amendment—which prohibits cruel and unusual punishment—“does not guarantee a prisoner a painless death”
The ruling affirmed that under Supreme Court precedent, an inmate challenging a state’s method of execution—even under unique, personal medical circumstances—must prove that a feasible, readily available alternative exists that would significantly reduce severe pain. Gorsuch ruled that Bucklew failed to provide the operational details necessary to show that nitrogen gas was a viable, easily implemented alternative for the state
Gorsuch also used the opinion to criticize what he viewed as legal gamesmanship, pointing out that Bucklew had managed to delay his execution for more than two decades through continuous legal appeals.
Sounds like you aren’t a MAGA Republican. They love this type of shit.
What a clusterfuck of a life.
Abused by your parents until you turn 18, and then the state takes over.
America in a nutshell
I was thinking the same thing when I read it. No doubt we’ll see an army of public servant dickheads in expensive suits lining up in front of the cameras speaking in a solemn voice about what happened before saying they accept full responsibility, and then go right back to abusing her through legalistic obstructionism and bullshit. The US really is an awful country.
The problem with lethal injection is that its a medical procedure requiring precision and specific, expensive drugs that…prison systems don’t want to use either of
also the companies that make the drugs dont want to be associated with it, i believe a european country that makes the drug refused tos ell it. so the states have to jury rig a drug cocktail.
prison systems don’t want to use either of
Every major F.D.A.-approved pharmaceutical manufacturer and several key medical supply companies have blocked the sale of their products for use in lethal injection executions.
Like, imagine a line the Sackler Family won’t cross because it’s too
unprofitableevil. That’s where we’re at on lethal injection drugs.I mean, probably not because it’s evil so much as it’s bad publicity.
From what I recall hearing in the news years ago, it seems that the manufacturers of the main drugs that would be used for this are located outside the US, in countries where the death penalty is not legal, so add a third reason for them not to do it (legal jeopardy).
What “precision” is needed for death? Better not give her too much potassium chloride it might kill her?
Im assuming you’re not just being a smart ass, and will give you a real answer:
The human body can be extremely resilient. If you are required to kill someone but not allowed to intentionally prolong the death or inflict unnecessary suffering, you must be really precise. The law is written that way to prevert torturing someone before their death.
In this botched execution, witnesses said her arm was purple and there were 7 sites that needles were used. Imagine attempting to injected a substance into someone’s bloodstream 7 times and failing each time. All those liquids have to go somewhere, so it just absolutely ruins everything it touches loose in the body. She complained that her arm felt like it was going to burst. That to me is unnecessary suffering.
If they really wanted to kill someone nearly instantly they would have some type of blast chamber and use enough explosive that someone would basically be exploded in fractions of a second. But somehow that seems messy and barbaric compared to torturing someone like the state did last night.
It’s the difference between dying and dying screaming.
We are not monsters
We are not monsters
Many in government are. They gravitate toward power and are simply the most horrible people possible.
I’m no expert, but I’m guessing to ensure a painless and expedient death. Maybe too much of anything would be vomiting -> excruciating pain -> unnecessary fear/panic -> death instead of…asleep and dead.
I’m partial to something like a 5-ton boulder being dropped directly onto your face. Death aint pretty anyway, it would be cheap as hell, guaranteed fast and effective. And it would force some much needed conversations around the topic. Why not a boulder to obliterate your head? Who’s uncomfortable with it and for what reason?
I mean is it really more humane than a guillotine or are we just doing lethal injections to make those witnessing it feel more comfortable?
As long as it’s built properly a guillotine is pretty effective the first go around.
It’s absolutely for the sake of the audience, and I don’t know anyone that reasonably argues otherwise.
Yeah the audience wants to not be confronted with their bloodlust. They want it clean and painless, just a quick “no more bad guy” rather than the viceral reality we’re primed to experience when a life is ended
It’s easier to argue in court since tha paralytic part of the three injections hides any possible reactions. That’s why they’ve had recent trouble doing lethal injections; the reactions start to show and give away the game when you don’t paralyze fully.
It’s also interesting there have problems with nitrogen as well. It tells me they haven’t set it up so they purge co2 properly. Likely deliberately.
i assume the agonizing part for nitrogen is gasping for air, is not like going to sleep and never waking up. so its not really humane
Biologically we detect co2 not o2. The agonizing part of nitrogen is that they don’t want to die and know that inhaling will kill them so they’re holding their breath. It’s natural human instinct on their part.
I also dislike gas for executions because it makes it too easy, clean, and scalable for the state. Governments can’t make a room that just suddenly hangs everyone in it when a button is pressed. If we must have executions (and I oppose them in general) it should be hanging or guillotine.
I also dislike gas for executions because it makes it too easy, clean, and scalable for the state. Governments can’t make a room that just suddenly hangs everyone in it when a button is pressed.
Yeah…there is also some historical precedent you usually don’t want to be associated with…
You don’t gasp for air. I’ve seen controlled experiments with people on pure nitrogen and they don’t even notice what’s happening. They just get a little loopy and stop being able to function more and more.
It’s possible the people executed in this manner so far were all trying to hold their breath and hurting themselves, but it seems just as likely to me that they either were not using pure nitrogen or were sealing the face mask so none of the exhalations escaped.
I think an explosion box would be the best. (I am anti death penalty)
Like a bomb calorimeter? We could find out how many calories in each person as they go!
I’ve been hearing for years that it’s very hard for the government to find qualified doctors who will work with them on this technology or help administer it, and that makes it extremely hard to carry out reliably. This is far from an isolated incident.
It’s also pretty hard to source the chemicals because some of the manufacturers won’t sell when they find out what it’s being used for.
Kinda makes you wonder about the whole concept when no one wants to be involved.
I wonder if it was like jury duty and anyone could be randomly selected to be the executioner if support for the death penalty would change.
Edit: By wonder, I mean it somewhat flippantly. Like “maybe this ain’t such a grand idea if no one wants to be anywhere near it”
There is absolutely a subset of basically any population that would volunteer. Maybe only once, but they would.
Because executions violate the Hippocratic oath.
The angle of execution being a harm is pretty obvious, but on the other hand they could reduce suffering (a harm) by by helping ensure it’s done right. But I guess the oath doesn’t compel them to reduce harm, just not add to it.
In the US, any medical professional participating in an execution loses their credentials. That’s the bare minimum consequence but even Americans sometimes do something slightly right on occasion.
Reminds me of the scene from I’m A Virgo, where Elijah Wood explains why he’s becoming an executioner.
You’d think there’d be a sort of double-jeopardy thing in relation to lethal injections.
Something like the old Western movie trope of how you can’t be hanged twice.
A lethal dose of opiates.
I feel like if a execution doesn’t work, the person should be free to go. They already went through the execution and served their sentance.
Then the government would actually give a shit.
Or just get rid of the death penalty because it’s barbaric
Okay, but what if the person you’re lining up for death is really unpopular, and I can run a political campaign promising to kill them?
Used to be the rule in many places. Man’s law spoke and god said no.
The Lord requireth sacrifice.
I don’t know about “Free to go” but definitely not, “let’s keep executing them until it sticks.”
This fiasco has been nothing but cruel and unusual punishment over and over again for this woman for a matter that should have been settled 30 years ago. Southern states make me sick - led by the “party of life” my ass. They don’t give a single shit about “life” once that person is born.
conservative voters are obsessed with executions, they love it.
Common misunderstanding. They don’t give a shit about the unborn. It’s all for show and to punish.
it’s always easy to speak for something that isn’t born yet
Just a few follow up questions about the subject will show it’s mostly about punishing and controlling women.
nothing but cruel and unusual punishment
System is working as designed.
Every single thing about her case from the time of her arrest until now has been a complete fustercluck, it’s no surprise the execution didn’t work.
She literally told them, her lawyers literally told them, that she has a medical condition that will prevent the lethal injection drugs from working, but they’re so hell bent on murdering her that they could not just let her spend her life in prison. Yes, she brutally killed that girl, but the other two people who also brutally murdered that girl got life in prison for one, AND PAROLE for the other.
I’m not suggesting she’s innocent. She’s not. But why does every court have such a hard on for killing the woman? Abolish the death penalty, and do not give the state the right to kill it’s citizens. Please.
But why does every court have such a hard on for killing the woman?
Literally most deaths by execution in the US are suffered by males (1665), not by females (15). Just fucking stop that “women always suffer more than men” bullshit, because it’s not true.
Abolish the death penalty, and do not give the state the right to kill it’s citizens. Please.
I’m with you here, however.
At no point did I say more women were murdered by the death penalty. I rhetorically inquired why the courts have such a hard on for killing this singular individual woman
Gonna just leave that there, because I genuine don’t want to get into why you were so quick to jump to the phrasing you used, or make assumptions about you based on that.
She also had serious MH issues at the time. Was she given adequate psych assessment before sentence? Was it fully taken into account in sentence or the decision to go ahead with execution?
Apparently not.
why does every court have such a hard on for killing the woman
Because every hillbilly chucklehead in the state has a hard on for the death penalty.
JFC.
That’s fair. But it’s not just the Tennessee courts. She’s taken her case to the US supreme court multiple times.
And yeah, Tennessee can be conservative as fuck, and the education system leaves almost everything to be desired, but I lived there, 30 minutes from Knoxville, for 15 years. Most people are pretty against the death penalty anymore, at least most everyone I spoke to about it. And considering I did political organizing, I spoke to a lot of people of differing opinions. It’s actually one of the hooks we used to use when trying to convince people about more progressive or lefty policies. Start with the death penalty, as it’s normally the easiest way to get someone to the point of agreeing that they don’t always align with their political party or candidate
Wow things have changed or are different there. I remember the death penalty being pretty dang popular when I was younger
It’s still popular, until you start talking to them about it, or individual cases. People are generally “in favor” until they actually think about it for too long
People are often in favor of the theoretical death of evil humans, but the bureaucracy of administering the death penalty is too ridiculous and impractical.
On some issues the opinions of citizens are important, but in others I think citizens generally aren’t equipped to make a decision.
Another example might be taxes, or how much tax ought to be paid. Loads of people might vote to say they shouldn’t have to pay taxes, but very obviously they’re wrong.
American’s in particular seem ill equipped to separate the fact that someone may well “deserve” to die from the notion that delivering that death is not the best outcome for anyone.
No. Democracy is good for many reasons but especially because it requires people to explain to each other why they’re wrong and to thereby precipitate moral progress.
That’s why democracy anywhere is a threat to autocracy everywhere. It’s why evil people, religious people, etc., really hate democracy. Makes it hard to control others when they’re no longer morally depraved.
For instance, if you’re right that governments shouldn’t be administering the death penalty, you have to explain why and in doing so help people become less stupid.
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CONSERVATIVES fatansize about executions all the time, thats why. executions are red states way of placating the rabid voters.
it’s strongman politics. once a jury has condemned a prisoner to death, the whole dynamic surrounding their case shifts. no longer are they a person whose life carries value, even if that value is complicated by their actions. they become a shibboleth upon which every strongman politician must prove that they are not soft on crime. none of these appeals have taken into consideration the real facts of the case or the woman, but have been treated as an opportunity to prove to authoritarian supporters that this lawyer, this judge, this executive, whoever is able to step in, but doesn’t, to set things right is a big strong man that you should worship as a big strong man, and that they perform the role of big authoritarian daddy with aplomb.
What is the medical condition and went does it prevent the legal drugs from working?
She has a condition that causes blood clotting, some kind of thrombosis. Her lawyers told the courts that it could cause the injections to fail.
Other commenter is also correct. She was raped multiple times, and asked for a hanging instead of an injection because 1, she believes a botched hanging would be less awful a way to die than a botched lethal injection, and 2, because being strapped to a gurney (effectively tied to a bed) and surrounded by men and watched by strangers would be incredibly psychologically painful to her. The woman declined a last meal before they did this, id imagine she was too distraught to eat.
Oh wow.
Thanks for the write up, however depressing
Everything I have read says that she wanted another method of execution because strapping her to a guerney will trigger a PTSD episode.
That, yes. But also she has a blood clotting condition that her and her lawyers believed would make the injections fail to work correctly.
And we can see that’s what happened. Whether it’s because of the blood clots or not, I can’t say. But it sounds like they were spot on.
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This feels like a “ball don’t lie” situation.
Or, since the religious conservatives who love life also really like killing people, this is like God ordering a stay of execution.
Considering what she was executed for, it may have not been capital G God behind it…
twice she was attempted on by execution.
