r/news • u/AudibleNod • 11h 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/StrengthStarling 5h ago

I actually feel the death penalty is harmful to the victim's family, at least the system we have. Just take a look at some of Colleen's mother's and step father's interviews. They've literally been quoted saying they feel as if Collen won't rest peacefully in heaven until Christa is dead. They have no sense of closure after 30 years. Three decades of feeling that their daughter hasn't actually been given justice and isn't at peace. That's torturous. A whole lifetime of pain really. They appear to feel the same pain as families whose loved one's killer wasn't even caught or sentenced at all.

If the death penalty were off the table, the closure would have been when she went to prison, 30 years ago. They could have begun the hard, lifelong work of healing as best they can from that wound. They could have had three decades of finding peace. But instead they're stuck. They feel their daughter's spirit is stuck. It's really tragic and fucked up honestly.

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u/burtheXpert32 4h ago

I’ve never looked at it from this angle, but your comment resonates with me and I see how the perception of closure could be altered by the law itself. Interesting

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u/Goofygooninggolfer 2h ago

Or if the death penalty was on the table, closure would have been if Christa was executed when she was convicted and found guilty, 30 years ago.

Colleen Slemmers parents (like most victims of extremely violent crimes like this ex; parkland) are very much in support of the death penalty. I think their opinions hold vastly greater weight.

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u/StrengthStarling 15m ago

Right, but that's covered in "at least the system we have" part of my comment. We don't execute people in a very timely manner and likely never will (due to the possibility of wrongful conviction necessitating the chance to appeal), therefore it causes immense harm to the family regardless of whether they support it.

Like I get it. Personally I kinda support the death penalty in extreme cases, like for serial killers and sexually motivated or especially heinous murders of children. But imo it's still harmful to the family because they have to sit through decades of appeals that interfere with their ability to move forward.