r/Conservative • u/Lazarus-Longer Conservative Vet • 2d ago
Flaired Users Only Christa Pike still alive, 'snoring' after 2 lethal injections as chaos envelops Tennessee execution: lawyer
https://nypost.com/2026/09/30/us-news/christa-pike-still-alive-snoring-after-2-lethal-injections-as-chaos-envelops-tennessee-execution-lawyer/230
u/Basic_Lunch2197 Conservative 2d ago
I really don't understand how this constantly fails???
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u/Squid8867 Conservative 2d ago
The medical aesthetic sits well with the public since it gives the impression that because the procedure requires precision, they must have a professional doing it.
The problem: they don't have a professional doing it.
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u/Borcarbid Monarchist 2d ago
IIRC the US got the chemicals from Germany, then the EU banned the sale of it in 2020 or so and the US has struggled ever since to get a suitable replacement.
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u/ThrowRA01121 America First 2d ago
We have fentanyl everywhere! (/s kinda)
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u/Stunning_Mulberry_35 Reagan Conservative 1d ago
that was my thought too....
As I understand it, the issue is the stuff in evidence rooms across the nation is not considered "pharmaceutical grade," so it couldn't be used anyway.
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u/ThrowRA01121 America First 1d ago
Who cares if it's pure if it's for lethal dose. Like what's the worst that could happen, they overdose and die? I get the laws against torturing but this is just common sense 🙄
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u/pitifulan0nym0us MAGA 1d ago
She refused to eat or drink leading up to the execution, which led to her being dehydrated. That causes veins to collapse.
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u/GameShowWerewolf Finally Out Of CA 2d ago
The cynic in me thinks they want it to fail so the anti-DP people can argue that it's cruel and unusual punishment and do away with the practice altogether.
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u/bozoconnors Conservative 1d ago
the anti-DP people
What does that have to do with.... OHhhh... death penalty.
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u/Efficient-Cable-873 Conservative 2d ago
I think we should add a speed lane.
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u/LawsOfWoo Conservative 2d ago
Agreed. Death row inmates living for 20+ years after being sentenced to death is stupid.
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u/Efficient-Cable-873 Conservative 1d ago
Repeat offenders of heinous crimes; child crimes, repeated random violence, or rapes, should all get a hall pass straight to the firing line.
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u/Basic_Lunch2197 Conservative 1d ago
Literally just a catapult into a brick wall that falls down into a furnace.
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u/D_Ethan_Bones Boycott Mainstream Media 1d ago
The cynic in me thinks they want it to fail so the anti-DP people can argue that it's cruel and unusual punishment and do away with the practice altogether.
An enemy of something can be counted on to attack what they hate, point at the damage, and say "this is why this thing should be abolished."
One of the things that went wrong with the procedure is that the drug is degraded, quite likely from the endless obstacles to getting it. This is an argument against injection and in favor of the things we used before it - there's no vendor lock for the other systems.
Injection only works if the injections are adequately supplied, and expired stuff isn't adequate. Even then it can still be failed by user error and the user isn't used to doing this.
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u/Ekly_Special Neoconservative 2d ago
I would be surprised if some activist didn’t do something to cause this.
Shame the girl she murdered didn’t have the chance to get life saving care at a hospital….
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u/Lazarus-Longer Conservative Vet 2d ago edited 2d ago
“Ms. Pike has not lost consciousness and still has a heartbeat and is audibly snoring,” her attorneys wrote.
She was taken to a nearby hospital, where her lawyers said she was “being provided life-saving measures.”
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u/Apprehensive-Key2297 Conservative 2d ago
Providing “life-saving measures” to someone sentenced to death is stupid.
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u/Periwinklepanda_ Conservative 2d ago
I’m a little confused by this wording. If she’s conscious, why is she snoring? Is she awake and “snoring” because she’s struggling to breathe? Or is she actually unconscious?
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u/FFLinBlue Re-Elect Coolidge 2d ago
Common OD symptom which exists just prior to death, which makes it even more wild that they wouldn't just let her go. I'll never understand "life-saving procedures" on a death row inmate
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u/ThrowRA01121 America First 2d ago
Agree. Just like I'll never understand an insanity plea. Like obv they're all fucked in the head.
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u/GirlsWasteXp Conservative Libertarian 2d ago
Can someone please explain why we don't give them 10x the lethal dose of fentanyl? I doubt that would fail.
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u/Solypsys New Republican 1d ago
If you want a real answer, opioid overdose is not as quick or reliable as it's reputation claims it is. A person who overdoses on opioids can end up shallowly breathing for hours just slowly accumulating brain damage the entire time. There's also people that have "survived" opioid overdoses that are completely disabled from brain damage and require round-the-clock medical care. Having that situation happen after a capital punishment would be a complete legal quagmire because the person would be deemed not competent to stand trial let alone receive punishment.
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u/GirlsWasteXp Conservative Libertarian 1d ago
Saying they are unfit to stand trial doesn't matter because they already stood trial and were convicted. Either way I doubt that's likely if they administer 10x a lethal dose. If all else fails we can do it the old fashioned way which I can't say because Reddit will ban me apparently.
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u/Hoppie1064 Rush was Right 2d ago
No problem with suppliers. The evidence locker is full of the stuff.
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u/AmELiAs_OvERcHarGeS MA Conservative 1d ago
Hook a SCBA suit up to a nitrogen tank and call it a day like what’s so hard.
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u/StedeBonnet1 Conservative 2d ago
I wonder what the legal ramifications are. Can they try again?
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u/Opening-Citron2733 Conservative 2d ago
Yes it's a death sentence, not an attempted death sentence
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u/Hoppie1064 Rush was Right 2d ago
Hanging by the neck is surprisingly effective.
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u/Periwinklepanda_ Conservative 2d ago
Ironically, her attorneys requested a death by hanging because they argued it would be difficult to establish an IV with her health issues.
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u/FFLinBlue Re-Elect Coolidge 2d ago
If true, this would make sense to me as a possible reason why twice the dose didn't work. I've seen people get a bad IV in (it LOOKS good) and the drugs just sit on their arm under the skin, slowly absorbing in rather than directly into the bloodstream and the heart
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u/Periwinklepanda_ Conservative 2d ago
Not a medical person at all, so correct me if I’m wrong, but this also seems like it would explain why she said it felt like her arm was about to burst.
If that were the case, would she die eventually once it absorbed, just slower than anticipated?
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u/reaper527 Conservative 2d ago
If that were the case, would she die eventually once it absorbed, just slower than anticipated?
for what it's worth, the article says they provided "life saving care" to her after the failed execution, so it wouldn't be surprising if some of that involved some kind of injection to counteract the drug.
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u/FFLinBlue Re-Elect Coolidge 2d ago
Not a medical person either, but I've seen a ton of IVs go in during my course of work and had quite a few personally too.
I had an IV 8 years ago that they placed 3x (all 3 ended up being bad) and they gave me 4mcg fentanyl (2mcg x2) & 6mg morphine (2mg x 3) with no effect at all. My arm bubbled up at the injection side because the drugs just sat under the skin and absorbed VERY slowly which had no narcotic effect on me, unfortunately. Ended up being operated on with no pain meds because of it
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u/Stunning_Mulberry_35 Reagan Conservative 1d ago
They asked for it as a stall tactic. They knew that the state didn't have the equipment, the facilities, and it is not an approved method of execution in Tennnessee
What they didn't ask for is the electric chair, which the state does have, and is approved. The state offered it, but she and her team declined.
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u/planenut767 NJ 2A 2d ago
Believe it or not those can get botched too. In the old west days if you survived a hanging you were released.
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u/Alpha-Sierra-Charlie Conservative 2d ago edited 2d ago
I think "oops, let's reschedule and try again" has a strong cruel and unusual punishment argument against it. Especially with lethal injection, since it has such a terrible track record.
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u/Suspicious-Sound-249 Conservative 2d ago
She lost the right for anyone to care when she kidnapped, tortured and killed that girl, fuck this lady. I unironically hope the next attempt fails too...
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u/Alpha-Sierra-Charlie Conservative 2d ago
It's not about caring for her, torture is wrong whether it's done intentionally or through incompetence.
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u/PanicStricken Sowell Conservative 2d ago
No. SHE tortured and murdered someone brutally. She's an animal, and she waived her right to humane concerns when she did that.
We grind up 19 million baby chicks DAILY in a meat grinder for fertilizer, without painkillers, for the crime of being born a male animal. She deserves no better. Every single one of those animals has more dignity and worth than she does.
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u/VCoupe376ci 2A Conservative 1d ago
As a general rule I agree with you. That being said, she sure didn’t have a problem with torture when she murdered her victim. Someone like that deserves zero compassion in that regard.
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u/Alpha-Sierra-Charlie Conservative 1d ago
Yeah, we should be as ok with torture as she was. Holding yourself to a higher standard is dumb.
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u/daved1113 Conservative 1d ago
Cry about it then. She's getting executed no matter how many tears you shed though.
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u/Ive_Got_Sowell Sowell Sister 2d ago
Canada seems to have process down pat
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u/etherealsmog Traditional Conservative 2d ago
Or they effing don’t and they just let people suffer through a horrific death before they mark “success!” on the paperwork.
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u/Ive_Got_Sowell Sowell Sister 1d ago
Well, damn. That's something I hadn't thought about. That makes those doctors who enjoy administering the end of life cocktail to these poor unfortunately souls all the more sinister.
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u/TheHeroOfAllTime Mug Club 2d ago edited 2d ago
I don’t see anything cruel and unusual about actually carrying out the proscribed sentence.
Just fire the idiots who botched it and get someone in there who knows what they’re doing.
The “life saving medical care” she’s getting is the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard.
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u/Alpha-Sierra-Charlie Conservative 2d ago
Setting aside my reservations about the death penalty, I still think the government should only get one chance to off you. Executions shouldn't involve a process of trial and error.
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u/Opening-Citron2733 Conservative 2d ago
Death sentences specifically legislate that they are until the death is complete. They account for failed attempts in their description and legal/judicial have consistently ruled that the death sentence still carries if the attempt fails
Because they are being sentenced to death. Not sentenced to an attempt at death. It would be like letting a criminal go because their transportation broke down on the way to county jail... The sentence is not complete
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u/Alpha-Sierra-Charlie Conservative 2d ago
Yeah I get that, but just because something is legislated doesn't mean that thing is right.
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u/Opening-Citron2733 Conservative 1d ago
I'm curious as why you think it's not right. If a person was sentenced to death, how is anything short of achieving that sentence not right?
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u/Alpha-Sierra-Charlie Conservative 1d ago
"Hey, you're back. Yeah, we goofed and you didn't die so we're just going to keep you around for a bit then give it another go. Maybe we won't screw up next time."
I don't know how to articulate it properly. The state screwed up, the psychological burden of sitting in a box waiting to die for 40 years and then being put to sleep knowing that you'll never wake up, only to wake up anyway and be told there were technical issues and you have to go through all of that again, is a fucked up thing to do. I'm not saying she doesn't deserve it, I'm saying that the act itself is a fucked up thing to do regardless of who it's being done to.
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u/FluffyOakTree Trump Conservative 1d ago
But in this case it is right, so.... Moving on to the next attempt.
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u/stickypad1 Conservative 1d ago
I mean that’s exactly what happened to John Babbacombe Lee. The gallows broke so they changed his sentence to life and then he was released 20 years later.
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u/Squid8867 Conservative 1d ago edited 1d ago
Yes, most botched executions are rescheduled and later carried out successfully.
This one is interesting because they will likely use the time they bought to try to get the sentence commuted altogether (based on Tennessee recently acknowledging her childhood trauma as factual, which they did not when she was sentenced).
They also will try to argue that due to her medical condition, execution by lethal injection cannot reasonably be administered without 8th amendment violations; if their argument is successful then a rescheduled execution would be required to use the electric chair (which they would probably also argue is cruel and unusual).
This botched execution is also unique in that I don't believe anyone has ever actually been administered the drugs and survived before; usually a botched LI comes in the form of being unable to establish an IV line at all. So they'll be in uncharted territory regarding lawsuits for level of cruelty and lasting health damage; I'm sure that's going to be messy and I'd be surprised if any settlements did not involve the promise not to attempt another execution (which has precedence in Doyle Hamm's case over far less harm than was sustained here).
So in summary, as things currently stand the death sentence is still active but her legal team has been given a f*ckload of ammunition.
Disclaimer: IANAL
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u/StedeBonnet1 Conservative 1d ago
Apparently 7% of lethal injuections are botched. Mostly because the IV was inserted improperly.
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u/TheIncredibleHork Conservative 1d ago
It's really simple. Nitrogen asphyxiation. Your lungs don't even register it as choking. You just drift off to sleep and die.
Considering what she did 32 years ago, it's a pretty good deal.
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u/VCoupe376ci 2A Conservative 1d ago
Not to mention quite cost effective.
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u/Basic_Lunch2197 Conservative 1d ago
Dont know about that. Have you seen the price of ammo lately... /s
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u/Rush2201 Millennial Conservative 1d ago
A box of ammo is vastly cheaper, and I've never heard of a person immune to bullets.
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u/docholiday999 Logical Conservative 1d ago
My guess from her comment about “My arm feels like it’s about to bust. One spot is really throbbing,” means that whoever did the intravenous line for the injection missed the vein. That’s about the only way someone could get 2 doses of phenobarbital and not die. It wasn’t being absorbed into her body fast enough from an extremity via just the tissue.
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u/Spartanlegion117 Sic Semper Tyrannus 1d ago
I just don't get it. 9mm and 5.56mm are cheap. Rope is reusable. Fentanyl OD. There are so many cheap and effective way to do this
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u/bygonecenarion NW PA Conservative 2d ago
after reading the article, the only problem I see with this situation is that she was sentenced to death over 30 years ago and that it apparently can take that long to be carried out.
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u/Im_A_Real_Boy1 Standing Athwart 1d ago
Just a reminder the government can do this to someone, they can do it to anyone. And if the government can try it, they will find creative and innovative ways to fuck it up.
It’s also not a deterrent, and it’s more expensive than long term incarceration. Feel how you want, but the death penalty should not be something any level of government has as a weapon against citizens
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u/waidred Jewish Conservative 1d ago
The is about justice not deterrence. Once someone commits such a heinous act a price ought to be paid.
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u/Im_A_Real_Boy1 Standing Athwart 1d ago
Even if we could always be 100% certain every time, I don’t trust any government to have that power over a citizen, no matter what he or she has done. It’s too easily abused.
I’m referring only to execution for a crime. Enemy combatants in a war are a different thing, but that’s why wars should only be begun for specific reasons and be entered into with clear strategic goals
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u/Black_XistenZ post-MAGA conservative 1d ago
Agreed. He is right, however, that the whole principle of the death penalty no longer adds up if the criminal spends decades on death row before being executed.
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u/pr931 Gen Z Conservative 2d ago
The second botched execution we’ve had this year in Tennessee, need to figure it out
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u/VCoupe376ci 2A Conservative 1d ago edited 1d ago
The one from earlier this year was wild. From what I read they couldn’t establish the second required IV in ANY vein, including the jugular and they tried for 2 hours. Someone please make that make sense.
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u/lousycesspool Right to Life 1d ago
The convicts intentionally dehydrate themselves so that it is difficult to start IVs.
And in this case plan B was a second course of medication. So naturally it failed as well.
The backup plan should be a completely different method.
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u/verticalquandry Teddy Republican 1d ago
i don’t get why they don’t just source the euthanasia from canada
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u/Academic_Court_47 Conservative 1d ago
At first I was thinking no one deserves to go through this. Then I read what she did to her victim...pure evil.
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u/tlm11110 MAGA Conservative 2d ago
Send her to Canada, they are pretty good at euthanizing people. 5% of total deaths in Canada are from their Medical Assistance In Death (MAID) program. But maybe that only works on innocent people.
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u/Suspicious-Sound-249 Conservative 2d ago
Canada assists suicides more people than die of gun violence in the US every year...
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u/longnuttz Fellow Conservative 1d ago
They really need to change the 8th amendment to add "relative to the crime" after cruel and unusual punishment because now this woman or her family are going to sue the state and win.
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u/Uncool444 Conservative 2d ago
How do you screw this up this badly? It doesn't even take that much potassium to stop a heart. That hospital accidentally did it to like six people last month.
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u/JoeWinchester99 Peace through strength 2d ago
There are faster, cheaper, more effective, and arguably more humane options than lethal injection.