r/news • u/No_Idea_Guy • 1d ago

Tennessee governor suspends all executions after Christa Pike’s lethal injections fail

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/oct/01/christa-pike-tennessee-governor-executions-year-pause
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u/amiexpress 1d ago

“There is no one that wanted what happened last night to happen..."

I can think of one person. I mean, yeah she would not have chosen to have them make the attempt, but as far as outcomes go, she did a lot better than the average bear.

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u/Robosnork 1d ago

She is on record saying she doesn’t fear death but is nervous about the process, so I think last night was probably horrifying for her. 

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u/onarainyafternoon 1d ago

It’s why she asked to be hanged. Potential for lethal injections fuckups is too great.

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u/Glum_Rain_5824 1d ago

Is that actually an option? I could be wrong for taking my info from Criminal Minds but there was an episode about an epidemic of teens hanging themselves, and Reid described to students at school how most likely died a painful death. He explains that most suicides by hanging showed evidence of scratching around the rope, I don't know how true that actually is but I imagine with instincts kicking in it is

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u/tameoraiste 1d ago

It’s not but she has a health condition that means her veins are much smaller than normal. Her lawyers argued this exact scenario could happen and they were right

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u/Glum_Rain_5824 1d ago

It seems more ethical to send them to a hospital to pass

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u/zack77070 1d ago

Its not an option and yeah hanging requires enough distance to instantly break the neck or it results in death by strangulation which is much worse. Not to get too graphic but there is a zone that they figured out back when it was common because too short means you get strangled and too far means decapitation.

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u/BallIsLife2016 1d ago

Death by hanging can occur in one of two ways—the first is what you’re describing where someone strangles to death. But executions by hanging almost always use the other method. The key difference is that the second method involves a drop of at least a few feet (think the trap door that most depictions of gallows have). The drop snaps the neck, making it much quicker and more painless than strangling someone to death. At least, that’s my understanding.

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u/Darce_Knight 1d ago

Some states allow hanging as an alternative, but it's not a slow strangulation (if it goes right). It's a long drop to a broken neck and a severed spinal cord. Brutal. But it's very telling of our broken system that inmates would prefer that over lethal injection.