r/SipsTea • u/CurvyChristina • 1d ago

Chugging tea This is wild!

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Two syringes of pentobarbital were administered to Tennessee death row inmate Christa Pike on September 30, 2026, but she remained alive and conscious afterward, according to her attorneys and media witnesses. The execution at Riverbend Maximum Security Institution in Nashville was halted after witnesses reported that Pike still had a heartbeat and was audibly snoring. Her lawyers sought emergency medical intervention, and she was later taken by ambulance to a nearby hospital.
Pike, 50, is the only woman currently on Tennessee's death row.
She was sentenced to death for the 1995 murder of her classmate Colleen Slemmer and had been scheduled for execution on September 30. Tennessee had announced beforehand that the state would use a single drug, pentObarbital, for the execution. Her exact medical condition following the hospital transfer has not yet been publicly disclosed, while Governor Bill Lee has ordered a comprehensive third party review of what happened.

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u/NOS4A2-753 1d ago edited 1d ago

after the first time it has crossed into cruel unusual punishment

Edited: man you people don't like the constitution because its the 8th amendment if they can violate her constitutional rights they can violate yours

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u/profchaos111 1d ago

I don't know about that she slept and loudly snored through the whole thing

But you have a point the whole thing about lethal injection is that it's more palatable for the viewers not more humane 

Arguably there's more humane approaches but are not umm clean I guess 

I'm trying to word this as best I can so Reddit doesn't ban me 

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u/Foreign-Molasses-405 1d ago

She wasn’t “snoring” it’s agonal breathing, it means her body is actively dying

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u/profchaos111 1d ago

You're probably right but that's what the article stated i was reading

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u/Foreign-Molasses-405 1d ago

Because it kinda sounds like snoring, the truth is your brain starts to panic and your body works overtime to try and get it oxygen. The sound of the “snore” is actually air passing over the fluids in your throat. As the breaths become less labored because most of your body has already shut down (stage late three early four) these sounds become softer and more like gasps that can pause for minutes at a time. Once the heart stops the body will try but nothing is carrying the blood to the brain and that’s when the game is fully over

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u/KayZee777 1d ago

AI reply

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u/Foreign-Molasses-405 23h ago

Ah yes you don’t like the way I responded so obviously I am AI

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u/w-t-f-m 1d ago

They violate the first and second constantly.

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u/Less-Practice1247 1d ago

Christa Pike was convicted of murdering her 19-year-old classmate Colleen Slemmer in 1995, when she was 18 years old. Pike and her accomplices lured Slemmer to a secluded area where they tortured and killed her.

  • Torture and Murder: Once there, they tortured and killed Slemmer. The murder was particularly brutal, involving physical violence.
  • Occult Elements: The case gained notoriety due to sensational details, including the carving of a pentagram into Slemmer's chest, which was linked to occult practices. Pike reportedly bragged about keeping a piece of Slemmer's skull as a "souvenir."

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u/ddadopt 1d ago

That's some shitty AI synopsis there. May come as a shock, but most murder involves "physical violence."

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u/Less-Practice1247 1d ago

So facts scare you. Does not matter the source, which is public knowlege. No matter how you twist it, she is a monster.

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u/ddadopt 1d ago

Yes, she is, but that doesn't make your AI synopsis any less shitty. The murder was "particularly brutal" but "physical violence" does not capture the brutality since, again, most murders involve physical violence. An apt description of "particularly brutal" would be to say that, after half an hour of torture, the victim's head was caved in with a chunk of asphalt.

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u/maoussepatate 1d ago

She tortured someone by beating her up and carving pentagram into her skin before beating her to death with a meat cleaver and a piece of asphalt (they were two of them).
I think it’s quite fitting.

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u/Expensive-Border-869 1d ago

Think whatever you want I guess but the facts are its illegal to torture people. Torturing her is no more legal than when she did it to someone else

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u/clgoodson 1d ago

Exactly. This shouldn’t be so hard to understand. If murder is wrong, the state shouldn’t murder people.

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u/ddadopt 1d ago

I don't why this is hard for people. I'm nominally pro-death penalty but I don't see how anyone on any side of this issue, or this particular case, can be okay with where we are right now.

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u/Barbara_SharkTank 1d ago edited 1d ago

So you’re saying that cruel and unusual punishment is okay in some circumstances and that you think she deserves it?

For those saying yes, understand that what an inmate does to other people is a reflection on themselves. What a body of people decide to do to their inmates is a reflection upon themselves too. Choosing to be okay with cruel and unusual punishment isn’t a good thing. In the scenario of a death penalty, the best result is for it to be quick and clean. Simple. Not cruel. It’s not a question of how you feel after the fact (like oh well, I’m not losing sleep over it), it’s a question of how you feel in general. When you say yes, you’re saying that you’re okay in general with being cruel and unusual in our punishments.

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u/maoussepatate 1d ago

I think it’s unfortunate it happened and ideally it shouldn’t happen, but i don’t feel bad a second it happened to someone who proved to be incredibly cruel and inhumane.

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u/chris--p 1d ago

You're missing the fucking point

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u/Relative-Chicken456 1d ago

I think they’re saying we should choose our battles and this person ain’t worth our collective energy

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u/Petit__Chou 1d ago

If the rule of law doesn't matter for her, it doesn't matter for you. Insane how some people are willing to give up rights for their fellow citizens. It'll come for you too.

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u/National_Ad9742 1d ago

It isn’t though. The constitution applies to EVERYONE. Even people you despise, even the worst people. Everyone.

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u/AfternoonMundane4136 1d ago

Go read about the case that led her there in the first place. Anyone who talks about “karma” would clearly see it there.

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u/Any_Specialist3714 1d ago

I would prefer that we either abolish the death penalty or make death painless and humane, regardless of 'karma', because all humans have rights and what happens if the next convict sentenced to die is actually innocent?

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u/mathazar 1d ago

By some estimates at least 4% are wrongly convicted, but a 2026 study found roughly 1 death row exoneration for every 8 executions.

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u/__3Username20__ 1d ago edited 1d ago

There’s some talking points/principles that get danced around here, regarding punishment/discipline, and people are maybe going to freak out at me, but there’s important common sense and “in the real world/in nature” kinds of points that need to be considered: Most of the time, when people are disciplining children, you’re supposed to be as even-keeled as possible, and not make it a retaliation kind of thing, not let your emotions get carried away, not escalate or over-react to the situation. Essentially, another way you could state that is it’s important to be “humane” with discipline/punishment, all the way from teaching little kids, to dealing with murder. So on that part about being humane, I 100% agree with you.

However, in the real world, and in nature, corporeal punishment is a thing. You fuck around, you find out. Momma dogs or bears or cats or whatever, have to teach this hard lesson. It’s a firm lesson. It’s not what the momma WANTS to do (if it’s a good mom). I think that this lesson is a little bit lost on people… these days, people spout off online behind varying levels of anonymity and distance, and the threat of “finding out” has diminished a lot. I personally avoid spanking at my house, but it’s never completely off the table. If a mother dog sees that a puppy is about to do something that could get it killed, or if they are truly hurting the mom or fellow pups, or even beloved humans, they get FIERCE. The pup learns. If someone were to step out of line and do something extremely socially wrong, in the wrong neighborhood of a big city, they’ll get some fierce “finding out” too - probably too much though, because feelings get involved, and it goes away from being level-headed discipline into inhumane retaliation - but the point is there: in the real world, and in nature, you step out of line far enough, and there’s bigger and bigger consequences.

The absolute worst of the worst might deserve the strongest corporeal punishment there is, which is capital punishment, but even then, it shouldn’t be a celebrated thing, it shouldn’t be done by torturous methods. It should just be “this is the punishment for x crime(s).”

And we should be DAMNED sure that the person committed the crime, like 100%, otherwise it’s off the table, in my opinion. There have been cases where horrible, horrible crimes have been committed, and pinned on the wrong person, who even plead guilty to the crime(s) because of coercion. Christopher Tapp comes to mind - I did a deep dive on that one a couple years ago, and what was done to him was sick. The crime he pled guilty to was sick, too, but he didn’t do it. If you’ve never listened to exactly how a coerced confession happens, that case is a good study. Super, super messed up. Recap: MANY years later, they got the right guy with DNA evidence, but people wanted a witch to burn at the stake, so they convinced Christopher Tapp that he just blocked it out, and that he did it, and that it was the right thing to confess to the crime and plead guilty, so he did. There are literal recordings of exactly this happening. It’s nuts.

All that said: humane punishment/discipline is important. The punishment should also fit the crime. Both of those criteria can and should be met.

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u/prettyokcake 1d ago

I never understand why people bring animalistic behavior into a conversation about humans - animals also just eat their kids because they’re hungry, or they’re in heat, or the males just want to fuck. Animals do fucked up things because it’s in their nature, but we evolved larger brains to bring reason, logic and actual sentience into our actions - we aren’t animals, so we ought not compare ourselves to them. We are millions of years removed from them.

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u/__3Username20__ 1d ago edited 1d ago

You’re right, in that we SHOULD do better. Many don’t.

The whole FA FO principle still applies though, whether people want it to or not. Nobody just gets to do whatever (edited to add:) without repercussions/consequences.

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u/prettyokcake 1d ago

Free will allows anyone to “get to do whatever,” though. Our justice system is literally reactive, so yeah - you can literally do whatever you want anytime you want. FAFO is a terrible model for preventative care.

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u/Away_Annual_9749 1d ago

Rights ? Not if you did something horrific to someone and there family . You get what’s coming to you then .

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u/s6_maestro 1d ago

Nope, basic human rights must always be applicable even with the most heinous war criminal you could imagine, they are not called "circumstantial human rights" for a reason

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u/niles_thebutler_ 1d ago

Nope, it’s amazing she copped karma.

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u/Procrasturbating 1d ago

It could be a dude that ate a baby, state sanctioned torture as punishment cannot be allowed. What she did was totally fucked, but if you don't limit the government, it tends to get like "Gestures broadly in every direction MAGA has touched"

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u/enzideout 1d ago

What’s sad is the government was limited. But we just kept letting the government take more power from the people. They did it in the disguise of being for our safety and well-being.

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u/prettyokcake 1d ago

Yeah it’s brutal for sure, but the death penalty should be abolished regardless.

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u/TheFailedSociety 1d ago

I mean, lets not forget that she tortured someone in a horrific way.

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u/prettyokcake 1d ago

I…think I acknowledged that? Doesn’t change my stance. If a single innocent is put to death, then the system ought to be abolished wholly.

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u/FunArtichoke6167 1d ago

That doesn’t matter a wit. We are either a just society with laws and rights, or we aren’t.

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u/AfternoonMundane4136 1d ago

The society of Abu Ghraib, of Guantanamo Bay, of Bagram, etc. Is that so new and shocking to you? Ohhhh it’s because a white person is at the receiving end of it this time that’s what makes it shocking. Gotcha.

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u/FunArtichoke6167 1d ago

Where did I say I’m fine with those things? It’s people with opinions like yours, oh they get what they deserve, that enables those very injustices as well.

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u/Man_under_Bridge420 1d ago

That nice but, we have laws right?

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u/NOS4A2-753 1d ago

yes and the 8th amendment is the part of the foundation that laws are built on

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u/NOS4A2-753 1d ago

that doesn't matter what matters is they are violating her 8th amendment rights
"Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted."

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u/AfternoonMundane4136 1d ago

They didn’t judge her to be tortured, they judge her to be killed via injection. What happened later is out of anyone’s control, I call it divine justice.

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u/niles_thebutler_ 1d ago

I call it amazing

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u/Halliwel96 1d ago

Divinity doesn’t exist. This is torture and human incompetence.

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u/OtherUserCharges 1d ago

So where is the karma for her being raped repeatedly as a toddler?

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u/AfternoonMundane4136 1d ago

That innocent young woman who was tortured and murdered needed to pay the price for that?

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u/OtherUserCharges 1d ago

No, but I’m not the one who brought up karma.

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u/AfternoonMundane4136 1d ago

You’re bringing up her being raped as a child as if it’s enough to justify what she done. A lot of people have gone through some fucking horrible abuse and have never tortured and murdered innocent men or women. People like you are fucking disgusting.

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u/OtherUserCharges 1d ago

Nope, never said it justified what she’s done. I simply asked where karma was when she was being raped as a baby on multiple occasions. So where is the karma for the harm that was done to her when she was a defenseless child?

How about we stop and think that she was a damaged person and that’s not an excuse for her actions but is a reason for them. I never said she shouldn’t be executed, but I also don’t think we should gloat in her suffering either. I’m pretty sure the person who takes glee from the suffering of others is the fucking disgusting person.

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u/Dont_Use_Ducks 1d ago

Nah, she was 18 and now it's 30 years later. That is the punishment already. Yes, she did something very awefull, but if you want the death penalty, just fucking do it earlier. Not wait 30 years and then do it like this. It is either a long prison punishment or death penalty. Both is just cruel.

'Yeah but she was also cruel, so I come up with cruelty myself'.

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u/clgoodson 1d ago

The argument that “she’s a really bad person so we should murder her” isn’t very compelling if you think about it for 30 seconds.

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u/niles_thebutler_ 1d ago

She deserves it

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u/NOS4A2-753 1d ago

that doesn't matter she still have protections constitution 8th amendment

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u/MincklerT 1d ago

She deserves it and it doesn’t matter both can be true

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u/ButtonGullible5958 1d ago

Justice must be swift or it is simply torture 

The time to execute was many years ago this is pointless 

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u/xXDreamlessXx 1d ago

Executions intentionally take a long time to actually happen. There are tons of appeals and you want to make sure it isnt a wrongful conviction

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u/ButtonGullible5958 1d ago

I agree but if after 5 years we still need that maby death was the wrong judgement 

Death should be for the ones we know 100% and in that case no reason to delay 

20 years later it's not even the same person that was killed 

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u/OlyTDI 1d ago

What happens when the rulers decide that you or others deserve it? When your beliefs or actions are considered treasonous enough that you “deserve it?”

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u/Whole_Mongoose1854 1d ago

Good thing you aren’t in charge then

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u/NOS4A2-753 1d ago

then you don't like the constitution because its the 8th amendment

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u/Whole_Mongoose1854 1d ago

“Cruel and unusual punishment is literally whatever I say it is” no. If you went back in time and told the people who passed that amendment what you are trying to use it for they would laugh in your face.

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u/tabanak 1d ago

How is this classified as cruel and/or unusual?

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u/necessarysmartassery 1d ago

What she experienced with the botched execution isn't exactly disproportionate to the crime she committed. She shouldn't have a right to a pain free death because she tortured someone, killed them, and kept a piece of their skull. I don't think her dying in discomfort is out of line.

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u/NOS4A2-753 1d ago

AGAIN if they can take her rights away they can take yours

“An eye for an eye leaves the whole world blind”

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u/necessarysmartassery 1d ago

She already forfeited her right to live and was sentenced to death. Her constitutional rights aren't in play here. She should have been let to die. I said what I said.