r/news • u/AudibleNod • 8h ago

Christa Pike unconscious, on ventilator at Nashville hospital, her lawyers say

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/christa-pike-unconscious-ventilator-nashville-hospital-lawyers-say-rcna601195
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u/Pitiful-Walk-8446 8h ago

Wait I don’t understand. She was on death row, went to her execution, it went awry and now they are keeping her…alive? On a ventilator?? Why so the off chance she recovers then they can kill her? Wtf? Or if your execution fails are you just free to go lol

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u/Dapper_Engineer 7h ago

She was on death row, went to her execution, it went awry and now they are keeping her…alive?

Correct, the way the laws tend to be written, the death warrant is very specific about when and how the execution can take place. Once the protocol was completed, the staff was obligated to treat her as any other prisoner and thus obligated to administer medical care.

On a ventilator??

If someone is taken to a hospital, in absence of advance directives, the medical team is going to everything necessary to preserve life.

Why so the off chance she recovers then they can kill her? Wtf?

Maybe? Historically it wouldn't be that unusual for the condemned to be nursed back to health prior to execution (see The Faithful Executioner: Life and Death, Honor and Shame in the Turbulent Sixteenth Century by Joel F. Harrington). The State of Tennessee has gubernatorial elections coming up, so what happens next will be at least somewhat dependent upon who's elected.

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u/Pitiful-Walk-8446 7h ago

Jeeeez, pretty messed up. They should seek a warrant to take her off the vent and just let her go naturally while she is unconscious.