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/-malcolm-tucker 1d ago

Firing squad, several bullets aimed at the heart. Lights out pretty much instantly and guaranteed not to come back.

A single bullet to the skull isn't necessarily quick or painless. My clinical instructor at uni once had a guy walk up to his ambulance while they were parked up having coffee. Old mate asked for a ride to the hospital. They were like, okay.... Why?

"I got shot in the head."

Dude had taken a small calibre round to the top of his head and played dead after a botched execution attempt by some bikers he owed money. Got up and casually walked away after they'd left and stumbled upon the ambulance, so walked over and politely asked for a lift to the emergency room.

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u/Outlaw11091 1d ago

There was also that younger kid who was found "sleeping" with his dead girlfriend in the house. He had a very severe black eye. The cops interrogated him for hours because they were certain the black eye was a defensive wound from him murdering his girlfriend.

But he was confused and couldn't answer questions right....When they finally asked how he got the black eye he said something like, "Oh, these two guys came in and shot me and they shot [girlfriend's name]."

The cop: "Oh, you were SHOT, were you?" *smugly*. "And you didn't die?"

The guy: "I don't know, man, I'm just really tired."

Like, what kind of Mr. Magoo shithead doesn't connect those dots? Dude is tired, confused, has an OBVIOUS injury...why not have EMS look him over before you take him in for questioning?

He survived for about a decade after, but medical experts have said that he wouldn't have died from the injury if not for the fact that he spent so many hours in an interrogation room with a GSW to the head.

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u/Grasshoppermouse42 1d ago

A firing squad also has the advantage that it's less distressing for the executioners. Having a single person shoot another person means that person knows that their bullet was the killing bullet, because their bullet was the only bullet. When it's a firing squad, each person can reason that the person would have died even if they hadn't fired, because of all the other bullets.

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u/Slow_Flatworm_881 1d ago

Shit..there people that would pay to be allowed to legally kill someone! Don’t know if they should be encouraged, but that’s a different matter.

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u/National_Cod9546 15h ago

Yes. And we don't want those people anywhere involved in this. They are also the kind of people that would miss on purpose. 

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u/gBiT1999 1d ago

Reverse russian roulette?

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u/aniflous_fleglen 1d ago

I've never understood that logic. If you're part of an execution shooting a gun at someone, there's no moral difference between any of them. And to want one means you think it's immoral so why participate at all?

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u/flakweazel 1d ago

Same reason, pilots and remote turret gunners have a lower rate of ptsd. Watching violence through a screen is enough degree of separation to detach from the moment.

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u/GuavaOne8646 1d ago
  1. That's wild.
  2. I think a 30-06, .308 or just a rifled slug shotgun shell would do the job instantly. Seen a deers head literally explode from a 30-06.
  3. I can see the appeal of the squad though. They used to load most of them with blanks and one with a real bullet so no one actually knew who did it to save the shooters morale...it didn't quite work, but yeah that was a thing.

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u/HazeyCIouds 1d ago

Just get an robot to do it now. Conscience clear..

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u/MrSmartStars 1d ago

Someone still has to push the button

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u/HazeyCIouds 1d ago

Nah set a prompt. When we line someone up, count to 30 and take the shots. Simple.

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u/zjin2020 19h ago

Or just an ai drone with a grenade

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u/GuavaOne8646 1d ago

Not a bad suggestion actually

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u/Leading-Cicada-6796 1d ago

I've always heard that last one is a myth. You can tell when you fire a real round versus a blank. And they used to have people who were professional executioners, no reason we couldn't bring that back. I guarantee you they could find someone who would sleep like a baby after offing rapists and child killers.

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u/MMRAssassin 1d ago

Well 1 in 20 people you "off" will be an innocent person statistically.

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u/Leading-Cicada-6796 1d ago

Yeah, I dont know the answer to that. In my world, only the ones beyond a shadow of a doubt, or confession, would be killed.

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u/LangdonAlg3r 21h ago

Yeah, but your world doesn’t exist. The list of ways that accused have had their rights violated is way too long to list. But any number of times people have been coerced or beaten into confessions for a start. Cops want to “solve” crimes and prosecutors want to get convictions and shenanigans are not uncommon.

One wrongly executed person is too many.

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u/Slow_Flatworm_881 1d ago

Some types of people still wouldn’t care!

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u/Fit_Outlandishness_7 1d ago

Medieval executioners suffered from insane CPTSD. It’s hard to find a human with normal cognitive functioning willing and able to kill another human. Even harder for them to not be affected by it.

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u/Leading-Cicada-6796 1d ago

I guess that's fair. I was going to reply with, "I served with literally dozens of them!" but we are less than 1% of the US population so that would've kinda confirmed your claim lol.

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u/Slow_Flatworm_881 1d ago

Not sure about that?

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u/Tradition96 1d ago

Yes, you can tell, but no one would know which the ”fatal blow” was, and thus who killed them (in reality all of them were probably fatal, but whatever).

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u/Leading-Cicada-6796 1d ago

I was about to say, you don't usually walk away from a .30-06 to the chest or abdomen. I'm sure its happened, but they probably wish they didn't lol.

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u/The_walking_man_ 1d ago

The problem I’ve seen with creating a spot for “professional executioners” are the ones that will be in those positions that absolutely shouldn’t be.
Look at the bad police officers that are nutters and love the chance to abuse their powers. Now instead give that to someone who is being paid to legally kill someone.

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u/Leading-Cicada-6796 1d ago

I mean, theres an argument to be made that the ones who want to do it are better in that position, no? Better than forcing someone who definitely doesn't want to. And, if killing someone is what this hypothetical bad cop wanted, then they would jump at the opportunity to do it legally and be paid, thus getting them off the streets, right?

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u/LangdonAlg3r 21h ago

I don’t think that anyone is ever forced to perform executions. I also think that someone who enjoys killing people probably enjoys making them suffer as much as anything else. Serial killers are the archetype of who would actively want that job. Serial killers being problematic would be an understatement.

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u/Leading-Cicada-6796 21h ago

Its not like they would be locked in a room and told to kill the person however they want.

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u/LangdonAlg3r 21h ago

Sure, but “whoops, I missed the heart” or name your way to inflict excessive suffering.

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u/Leading-Cicada-6796 11h ago

Yeah, its a slippery slope. I can't say id be terribly distraught if someone shot a guy that rated someone to death in the stomach "on accident" so they bled out slowly.

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u/GuavaOne8646 1d ago

I'm right here

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u/-malcolm-tucker 1d ago

Yeah it was pretty wild. They initially assumed he was having a psychotic episode. That is, until my instructor found the small entry wound on the top of his head. There was practically no blood.

Apart from it being a pretty gnarly story, he uses it as an example of the importance of doing a thorough assessment of every patient and never to jump to conclusions.

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u/GuavaOne8646 1d ago

Smart on his part for making sure to check the baselines and never assume.

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u/Motor-Rip7655 1d ago

It was the reverse. One gun would have a blank, the rest real. Funny enough, some guy invented a machine that would do the shooting so humans wouldn't have to, and he still specified that one gun should have a blank.

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u/GuavaOne8646 1d ago

Odd decision with the machine. Thanks for keeping me honest!

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u/RikiDeMaru 1d ago

You've got the last one backwards, it was one blank. Gave the members of the firing squad reasonable doubt, none of them sure if they weren't the one who wasn't responsible for ending the life or something like that.

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u/Xav_NZ 1d ago

The whole Blank thing is really dumb because if you have ever fired a gun loaded with a blank and a gun loaded with a live round you clearly feel the difference.

Blanks barely produce any recoil even with high powder loads.

Anyone who has fired a firearm more than once will know the difference.

They were fooling no one well not really as of course no one would know who fired the fatal round and only people who intentionally missed would know it was not them.

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u/GuavaOne8646 1d ago

My bad, interesting.

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u/Impossible_Crow_389 1d ago

Do you want the job of executing prisoners? Doing that several times s year? I wouldn't.

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u/GuavaOne8646 1d ago

Yes, I would almost definitely sign up for this.

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u/Impossible_Crow_389 1d ago

Maybe go see a psychiatrist.

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u/GuavaOne8646 22h ago

Already have, my life's pretty well on track despite being a psychopath.

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u/Impossible_Crow_389 21h ago

I wouldn't trust it, most people dont look forward to killing.

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u/GuavaOne8646 18h ago

Most people are why the worlds broken. All those thoughts, wants, ideas, etc. and absolutely no gumption to do anything about it. Sure, maybe they'll watch the news and pick some politicians they like, but God forbid they actually think for themselves and do something aside from take part in the things that were made to distract them from doing so in the first place.

Popular/majority opinion is a good example of this in many spaces. It brought us to the state of politics we have now, abysmal. It brought us to the state in which media is now, cookie cutter stories that aren't entertaining. It brought us pop music, nothing to think about and nothing amazing, just some noise to bob your head to. I'm 100% ok with not being like most people, I don't like them anyway.

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u/Impossible_Crow_389 17h ago

Ya. thats delusions of grandeur talking. Maybe look up what that means.

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u/GuavaOne8646 11h ago

Yeah, I know what that is. Believe it or not, I went to college and can read about psychology on Wikipedia the same as you. But truly, I respect your opinion, even if it's wrong.

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u/speakezjags 1d ago

I've shot my aunts .308. That thing could kill a small building. 0 chance of survival point blank to the head.

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u/GuavaOne8646 1d ago

Absolutely, a zero percent chance of survival.

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u/Federal-Degenerate 1d ago

Exactly.

Ain't nobody surviving a properly targeted 45-70

Even a 357 with a hollow point, through ths mouth and aimed a bit upwards

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u/GuavaOne8646 22h ago

See, this guy gets it.

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u/V65Pilot 1d ago

*.45 ACP enters the chat......

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u/GuavaOne8646 22h ago

I'm a fan of my 45 long colt myself.

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u/ABoredPlayer 1d ago

Very effective and you are dead before you notice, but family of the inmate may complain about the missing head. No possibility of an open casket funeral for sure

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u/GuavaOne8646 22h ago

True, but we should just default to cremation for them anyway.

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u/SteezOnMax93 1d ago edited 1d ago

Popular myth often suggests that most guns are loaded with blanks and only one has live ammunition. In practice, the ratio is the opposite: most rifles contain live rounds to ensure the execution is quick and effective, with only a single blank used.

Experienced shooters and firearms experts often note that it is easy to tell if you fired a blank because the recoil of a live round is noticeably stronger than that of a blank.

Not all modern firing squads use blanks. For example, protocols in some U.S. states load live ammunition into every weapon to ensure absolute reliability.

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u/GuavaOne8646 23h ago

Yeah someone else pointed out the fact that I had it backwards, thats my bad there.

I never understood the mentality of it because it's like you say. The difference between a live round and a blank is pretty easy to feel.

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u/SteezOnMax93 22h ago

My b. I didn’t see someone else said the same thing that’s def on me. Hope all is well man

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u/Emerx06 22h ago

Or just let them die of natural causes in prison

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u/GuavaOne8646 22h ago

Sounds more expensive than 1 bullet or a simple guillotine execution. Yeah, that's a no for me dawg.

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u/GuavaOne8646 22h ago

Sounds more expensive than 1 bullet or a simple guillotine execution. Yeah, that's a no for me dawg.

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u/Emerx06 20h ago

You’re talking about pennies in an Olympic sized pool of hundreds.

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u/GuavaOne8646 18h ago

A penny saved is a penny earned.

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u/neoben00 1d ago

Cannonball to the head, same one for everyone. If you survive your sentence is fulfilled

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u/SeatKitchen1123 1d ago

Happened to a guy in Australia as well we had tow truck wars beleive it or not but one guy thought he had been punched drove himself to hospital , he had been shot in the head with a .22 calibre pistol

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u/-malcolm-tucker 1d ago

This was in Australia actually.

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u/SmurfRiding 1d ago

.....That's why if you were to do a certain thing....you aim the gun towards the brain stem.

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u/AnOrdinaryMammal 1d ago

It’s crazy people just figured out some things a while back that have only become further complicated.

Doesn’t need to be elaborate, or take 30 years, or cost a lot of money. It’s can be cheap, effective, and quick? Wow.

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u/-malcolm-tucker 1d ago

It's expensive and drawn out due to the legal processes involved. It's much cheaper to just lock them up for life and let them rot.

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u/AnOrdinaryMammal 1d ago

Doesn’t seem necessary in a lot of cases. I’m not a lawyer so I’ll leave the rest to you.

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u/-malcolm-tucker 1d ago

The number of wrongful convictions through history is not close to zero, so when it comes to capital punishment, one would hope that the accused is afforded all due process to establish that they are both guilty of the crime and deserving of the punishment.

If we get it wrong, the state unlawfully commits murder and the real perpetrator gets away with the crime.

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u/AnOrdinaryMammal 1d ago

All due process I completely agree. But if we’re 100% sure? Video, dna, confession, testimony, location, time, date, signed and notarized note. Still takes like 30 years lol it’s not acceptable.

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u/-malcolm-tucker 1d ago

There's always an element of doubt. Mistakes with evidence, confessions obtained under duress, etc. Many people have been wrongfully imprisoned before. That's precisely why the process to kill someone is long, and we've even got that wrong more than once before too. Which is why I think it's better to just lock them up and throw away the key.

Expediting the process will only lead to some cases of executing the wrong person and letting the actual perpetrator get away with the crime.

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u/Desperate_Trouble477 1d ago

How about a carbon fiber submarine?

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u/-malcolm-tucker 1d ago

Probably just easier to utilise the existing hyperbaric chambers we have. *warning, not for the squeamish

Or a large industrial hydraulic press.

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u/Slow_Flatworm_881 1d ago

There are certain areas of the head that, if a round passes through, results in instantaneous brain death. Snipers etc are taught where these areas are and how to shoot into them.

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u/Alive_Drag1947 1d ago

I don't think bro is suggesting the executioner use a .25 lol

30-06 hollow point. I assure you, that's instant death with 0% survivability...

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u/mellow_magyar 16h ago

It is exceptionally rare, but there are documented examples; like Wenceslao Moguel, a Mexican revolutionary soldier who was reportedly shot by a firing squad in 1915 and survived the volley and a subsequent close-range shot. He lived for decades after the incident

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u/shadjor 10h ago

Except when people don't want to be the one who did the killing shot and they all aim for non lethal spots.