this post was submitted on 31 Oct 2026
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Christa Pike, who survived Tennessee’s attempt to execute her by lethal injection a month ago, is speaking out for the first time, saying she is recovering, “but healing is not the same as being okay.”

“There hasn’t been a moment since that night when I haven’t been in pain. My body hurts. My arms hurt. My hands hurt. My throat hurts. I still struggle to speak,” Pike said in a written statement her attorneys say was dictated to them. “And the pain isn’t just physical. There is pain in my mind and in my soul.”

Pike, 50, was hospitalized after she survived two doses of pentobarbital as the state attempted to execute her on September 30 for the 1995 beating and stabbing death of classmate Colleen Slemmer. Soon after the failed procedure, Pike was on a ventilator, and her attorneys did not expect her to survive. But she woke up and later began talking and walking with assistance.

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[–] tanisnikana@lemmy.world 96 points 1 week ago (2 children)

I think she’s earned life in prison at this point. They should stop trying.

She’s not innocent, she’s a murderer, but she also doesn’t deserve to be tortured by the state either. Life in prison.

[–] Nomad@infosec.pub 20 points 1 week ago (2 children)

That she is. She killed her at 19 years old, which is pretty young. In germany, it would be legal not to try her as an adult and she would not get capital punishment. Probably fifteen years and change and getting out if she can be rehabilitated after that. This is just cruel.

[–] redditmodssucks@lemmy.world -1 points 5 days ago (1 children)

That’s fucking retarted. She literally killed soemone and people are complaining about HER rights. Fuck her she’s a goddamn murderer they should hang her. She plotted and stabbed to death a poor 19 year old girl and you’re like oh Germany that’s only 15 years no big deal. Not surprising Germany doesn’t have respect for human life.

[–] harrison_fnord@reddthat.com 1 points 3 days ago (1 children)
[–] redditmodssucks@lemmy.world 1 points 3 days ago (1 children)
[–] harrison_fnord@reddthat.com 1 points 3 days ago (1 children)

That explains it.

Remember that an eye for an eye leaves only blind people.

[–] Zak@lemmy.world 37 points 1 week ago (2 children)

She also tried to kill another prisoner several years after her initial crime. That's reason to believe she's more murderous than the average murderer and would present a danger to the public if released.

Life in prison or a mental health facility seems like the only reasonable option to me unless she was able to present compelling evidence that she is no longer dangerous.

[–] Nomad@infosec.pub 1 points 5 days ago

I was not aware of that. American prisons are fucked up, so this might still have been a survival situation. But even if not she, like any human, deserves a life in a peaceful person cell with decent food. Prison is about protecting people from her, not about punishment but rehabilitation. And if that is impossible she can't go free but there is no need for revenge in a just society.

That person came out and said later she had intended to kill someone and she did it to try to stop her. Which not all the stories line up but unless she was scared enough of a woman in solitary confinement, I think should could have some bearing on whether or not such should be used against her.

[–] hopesdead@startrek.website 11 points 1 week ago (1 children)

Executions last time I heard, where more expensive anyways.

[–] PlantDadManGuy@lemmy.world 2 points 1 week ago (2 children)

How? I mean obviously the answer is rancid festering weaponized capitalism, but gawt dayum how can we make 30 years of prisoner rent, food, and clothing cost the same as what should be a milligram of fentanyl?

[–] cruseo@piefed.world 18 points 1 week ago* (last edited 1 week ago)

Most people sentenced to death spend a lot of time fighting in court, which is much more expensive than simply keeping someone alive for 30+ years.

https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/what-to-know-costs-and-the-death-penalty

[–] remon@ani.social 4 points 1 week ago

You also have all those costs while people are on death-row and going through the appeals, which can take decades by itself.

[–] MrNesser@lemmy.world 15 points 1 week ago (2 children)

What's the legality with this ?

Is she still going to be executed.....again?

Doubtful. They had their chance and botched it. They are going to want to draw as little attention to this as possible. Likely just keep her locked up for life.

[–] ThatGuy46475@lemmy.world 5 points 1 week ago (1 children)

This has happened before and the court ruled the person was still condemned to die, at least one person has been executed twice.

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[–] BackgrndNoize@lemmy.world 12 points 1 week ago (15 children)

She killed someone in 1995, what does executing her now and even failing at that to the point of torture accomplish, if premeditated murder is a crime than how is it okay for the government to do the same as a form of punishment, it feels barbaric and outdated. The only situation I can see it acceptable is if the person is found guilty beyond doubt and their continued existence poses a threat like terrorists who people might try to break out or people who can run their crimes even behind bars

[–] Hylactor@sopuli.xyz 9 points 1 week ago (2 children)

The point of capital punishment is not justice. It is to "heal" the sovereignty of the state, which it deems to have been injured by behavior outside of it's control. First it's criminals killing innocent people, then what's next? The populace killing their oppressors? Honestly the same can be said about the politics surrounding abortion. They don't care that a pregnancy is terminated, they care that they had no say. The state are to be the only one's with the power to grant life or death. This is how you reconcile the logical inconsistency of the pro-life people being the same as the pro capital punishment people people. It's all about the sovereignty of the state. This, incidentally, is also the motivation behind Please Hangseth's attempt to reestablish public execution.

[–] DarkFuture@lemmy.world 1 points 5 days ago

It is to “heal” the sovereignty of the state

Think it also has something to do with healing the victim's loved ones.

If someone carved a pentagram into my loved one's chest then crushed their skull, I would feel a whole lot better if they were dead as fuck. I would not feel comfortable as long as they remained on the same plane of existence as me.

[–] BackgrndNoize@lemmy.world 2 points 1 week ago

Yup it's about establishing the monopoly on violence, back in the day the used the excuse of the mandate of god, now they use the excuse of flag and country

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[–] 52fighters@lemmy.sdf.org 3 points 1 week ago (1 children)

What I want to know is "Will she hurt other people if released?" If she won't hurt anyone, let her out. If she will, keep her locked up. But there's no need to execute her. No good can come of it.

[–] BarneyPiccolo@lemmy.today 2 points 1 week ago

No, she should never be released. But to try to execute her again would constitute Cruel & Unusual Punishment, prohibited in the Constitution. The government took their shot and missed. Her sentence should be commuted to a Life Sentence without parole, and she should go back to being forgotten.

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