this post was submitted on 02 Oct 2026
230 points (98.3% liked)

News

39484 readers
2902 users here now

Welcome to the News community!

Rules:

1. Be civil


Attack the argument, not the person. No racism/sexism/bigotry. Good faith argumentation only. This includes accusing another user of being a bot or paid actor. Trolling is uncivil and is grounds for removal and/or a community ban. Do not respond to rule-breaking content; report it and move on.


2. All posts should contain a source (url) that is as reliable and unbiased as possible and must only contain one link.


Obvious biased sources will be removed at the mods’ discretion. Supporting links can be added in comments or posted separately but not to the post body. Sources may be checked for reliability using Wikipedia, MBFC, AdFontes, GroundNews, etc.


3. No bots, spam or self-promotion.


Only approved bots, which follow the guidelines for bots set by the instance, are allowed.


4. Post titles should be the same as the article used as source. Clickbait titles may be removed.


Posts which titles don’t match the source may be removed. If the site changed their headline, we may ask you to update the post title. Clickbait titles use hyperbolic language and do not accurately describe the article content. When necessary, post titles may be edited, clearly marked with [brackets], but may never be used to editorialize or comment on the content.


5. Only recent news is allowed.


Posts must be news from the most recent 30 days.


6. All posts must be news articles.


No opinion pieces, Listicles, editorials, videos, press releases, or celebrity gossip will be allowed. All posts will be judged on a case-by-case basis. Mods may use discretion to pre-approve videos or press releases from highly credible sources that provide unique, newsworthy content not available or possible in another format.


7. No duplicate posts.


If an article has already been posted, it will be removed. Different articles reporting on the same subject are permitted. If the post that matches your post is very old, we refer you to rule 5.


8. Misinformation is prohibited.


Misinformation / propaganda is strictly prohibited. Any comment or post containing or linking to misinformation will be removed. If you feel that your post has been removed in error, credible sources must be provided.


9. No link shorteners or news aggregators.


All posts must link to original article sources. You may include archival links in the post description. News aggregators such as Yahoo, Google, Hacker News, etc. should be avoided in favor of the original source link. Newswire services such as AP, Reuters, or AFP, are frequently republished and may be shared from other credible sources.


10. Don't copy entire article in your post body


For copyright reasons, you are not allowed to copy an entire article into your post body. This is an instance wide rule, that is strictly enforced in this community.

founded 3 years ago
MODERATORS
 

Pike survived a lethal injection execution on Wednesday. She was sentenced to death for the 1995 killing of her classmate, Colleen Slemmer.

Christa Pike, the woman who survived an execution attempt in Tennessee earlier this week, is on a ventilator as she receives care in the hospital, her lawyers said in a new statement Friday.

“Christa remains critically ill and is receiving medical care for the devastating effects of Wednesday night’s events,” the lawyers’ statement said. “She is critically ill, unconscious, intubated and receiving breathing assistance through a ventilator.”

The statement said she is being treated for “the serious effects of the pentobarbital administered during the execution attempt, including significant injuries to both arms.”

top 50 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[–] EtAl@lemmy.dbzer0.com 21 points 5 days ago (1 children)

The State: murder is illegal.

Also the State: murder is legal when we do it.

[–] winkerjadams@lemmy.dbzer0.com 8 points 5 days ago

Rules for thee, not for me

[–] slickgoat@lemmy.world 28 points 5 days ago (2 children)

The US is fucking barbaric.

All this debate about the best way to kill a fellow human being. I know that she was a piece of shit, but there is something twisted about the practice of state authorised execution. I don't trust the state to have moral clarity on setting parking fines.

I am sincerely pleased that I am not a citizen of the United States, and I would imagine that Americans would find that circumstance mutually pleasing.

[–] Mrkawfee@lemmy.world 6 points 5 days ago (1 children)

They also have the largest percentage of population imprisoned on Earth. Savage society.

[–] DrSoap@lemmy.world 6 points 5 days ago

Slave labor never stopped here. They just found new ways to do it.

[–] aesthelete@lemmy.world 7 points 5 days ago (1 children)

Nah, one part I disagree with: I'm an American, and I very much wish there were more people like you here.

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] deadbeef79000@lemmy.nz 101 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago) (61 children)

Maybe don't execute people then.

If it was wrong for her to do it then it's wrong for the state to do it.

[–] Bougie_Birdie@piefed.blahaj.zone 46 points 6 days ago (4 children)

Yeah like, if she recovers what are they going to do, kill her again?

I'm against capital punishment and the way they do it in the US is barbaric. But at this point it would be more humane to pull the plug or hit her with a hammer or something

[–] cattywampas@lemmy.world 57 points 6 days ago (1 children)

This case is going to be in textbooks and history books on the subject of capital punishment in the future.

[–] TeaWithDani@lemmy.world 19 points 6 days ago* (last edited 6 days ago)

You really have to ask yourself what was the point? The crime she did is beyond words, but what is gained by killing her now? She's been on death row for over 30 years. If she was on a 25 year sentence she might have been up for parole. Is she really a danger to society? Ok, refuse her parole and move on.

Do you really think the 18 year old who did the horrendous crime gave a shit that the punishment was the death penalty? Will it stop the next 18 year old from killing? It doesn't prevent crime at all, it's just retribution. Is that really something necessary for the public good?

Establishing the premise that killing someone is ok if it's because they did something wrong might be dangerous if your entire society is armed and has strong moral opinions.

[–] Lauchmelder@feddit.org 9 points 6 days ago

In medieval times this would have been considered a sign from god and they would have set her free

She literally asked to be executed by firing squad. This all was foreseeable and has happened many times before.

load more comments (1 replies)
load more comments (60 replies)
[–] AnitaAmandaHuginskis@lemmy.world 14 points 5 days ago (2 children)

There is no such thing as a "humane execution". "Humane" to whom, anyway?

Maybe to the public crowd that does not get to see the agony because the person's muscles cannot move anymore and we do not hear anything.

Oh, how I hate the idea the government could kill a person and call it "justice".

And what about the pro life crusaders, where are they in this debate? Fucking hypocrites.

[–] DrSoap@lemmy.world 7 points 5 days ago (1 children)

It sucks even more because she was begging to be shot instead of an injection because of her child abuse.

I don't know why life in prison wasn't enough? She was removed from society and getting the psychological help she needed regularly.

load more comments (1 replies)
load more comments (1 replies)
[–] slickgoat@lemmy.world 17 points 5 days ago

What exactly is the deterrent, anyway?

There were pickpockets working the crowd at public executions in London when theft was a capital offence.

[–] lemonhead2@lemmy.world 51 points 6 days ago (2 children)

so what's the plan? nurse her back to health (long painful recovery) and then execute her after another 10 to 15 years?

[–] Omgpwnies@lemmy.world 32 points 6 days ago

They're also freely giving her better medical attention and coverage than an abhorrent percentage of the rest of the population. They're giving her care that an insurance company would do their damndest to deny, and as soon as she's conscious, they'll try to kill her again.

The state is probably pissy though because now they have to do paperwork to get another death warrant signed.

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] BarneyPiccolo@lemmy.today 16 points 5 days ago (8 children)

If we're going to have executions, then they should be humane, efficient, quick, and painless. The best way to accomplish that is with Nitrogen gas. Some states are already doing that, but they are doing it wrong, administering it through a covering over the mouth and nose.

Remember how the guy died at the end of One Battle After Another? He just relaxed in a comfortable chair in a glass box, and a gas, almost certainly intended to be nitrogen, filled the room, until he dozed off, and died.

That's how every execution should be. And since almost 80% of the atmosphere is nitrogen, it can be easily vented off without danger, unlike the old cyanide executions from the old days.

[–] mobyduck648@lemmy.world 5 points 5 days ago* (last edited 5 days ago) (1 children)

Nah I disagree, the state shouldn't get to disguise the violence it inflicts on people. Executions should not happen full stop, but if they do I condemn any measure whatsoever that spares the executioners from the trauma of what they are doing.

If I were to be executed I'd much rather be hanged, beheaded, or shot and without a hood in any case - hangmen and other supporting officials have no business making it easier for themselves to sleep at night.

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] Magnum@infosec.pub 5 points 5 days ago

Humane execution haha

load more comments (6 replies)
[–] AbsolutelyNotAVelociraptor@piefed.social 31 points 6 days ago (1 children)

So much for the "christian values" they say to follow. The US is rotten and violence is worshipped so much in the country that this kind of thing is not cause to revolt because she "deserves it".

You're not so different from the zionazi state. You're just more westerner. Christians... shitty hypocrites is what you are. It's really sad that there is no god nor heaven, you'd all go to hell if that were the case.

And before anyone comes saying bs, no. I'm not defending what this woman did. She deserves prison for what she did. But the way the US "justice" system works is nothing about justice, is plain revenge and slavery. And how interesting is to see them justify the system with their "christian" values...

The world deserves a yellowstone eruption.

[–] Formfiller@lemmy.world 15 points 6 days ago (1 children)

“Christians” have been doing crimes against humanity for two thousand years

load more comments (1 replies)
[–] Corvidae@lemmy.world 34 points 6 days ago (10 children)

Who is paying for all this care? The attempted execution seemed like cruel and unusual punishment. I'm not in favor of execution, but if you're gonna do it, do it quickly and efficiently, as humanely as possible. We euthanize small animals all the time. Is this what they go through?

[–] Witchfire@lemmy.world 19 points 5 days ago* (last edited 5 days ago)

Not nearly. I had to put down my dog recently, unfortunately and can share how it went.

I'll start by saying it was time. She was over 15 years old, blind, and disabled. But rest assured that she had a very rich life full of friends and travel. We did everything we could to give her the best life we could afford.

The vet warned my partner and I about how quickly it takes effect. The first thing they did was put in an IV catheter, which was probably the most discomfort she faced. But she was getting spoiled during it. After that it was two shots. The first one made her let out a deep yawn and knocked her out asleep. The second one ensured she never woke up from it, effectively an overdose. She knew the vet well, so from her perspective it was some discomfort followed by a nap.

I miss her every day 💔

[–] ChonkyOwlbear@lemmy.world 23 points 6 days ago (6 children)

Most pharmaceutical companies won't sell the state the drugs used to properly kill someone. Rather than stop executing people, the state tries to make do with whatever they can get their hands on.

load more comments (6 replies)
[–] SirEDCaLot@lemmy.today 14 points 6 days ago (6 children)

Not in the slightest.

The protocols for euthanizing small animals are written by doctors and veterinarians and scientists. None of those people want anything to do with executions, so the protocols for executions are generally written by people with little medical training, and the people conducting the execution are in a similar boat.

The result is that execution protocols are far from optimal. Take for example the typical three drug cocktail- first drug knocks you out, second drug paralyzes you, third drug stops the heart. Only problem is the third drug is extremely painful so if the dosage of the first drug is too low you can be conscious for it but unable to move leading to one of the most torturous painful deaths you can imagine, which nobody on the outside has any idea is going on because you are unable to move.

A much better execution protocol would be something like fentanyl or a single massive overdose of barbiturates. Either one you would just pass out and die quickly. Another option is nitrogen, the air we breathe is 80% nitrogen so the body doesn't react to it. Simply give somebody 100% nitrogen 0% oxygen, the brain is starved of oxygen, you get painless euphoric unconsciousness in under a minute and death in under 10 minutes. It's also cheap as hell because it's all around us.

Thing is- speaking for myself, as a pilot and scuba diver I understand exactly how nitrogen hypoxia works and I could write a 100% bulletproof execution protocol that could be administered by a trained monkey and would lead to a rapid painless death every time. I won't do it. You could pay me a million dollars and I wouldn't do it. I don't have faith in our criminal justice system prudence to execute people. There are too many situations where innocent people have been convicted and executed and the system did not properly consider the evidence in their favor. As such I don't think it's ethical for me to help a system kill people when I don't have faith that they are always going to kill the right people and not the wrong ones.

And the thing is, and not the only one. There's an awful lot of doctors and medical technicians in this country, and prison systems still have trouble finding ones to deal with executions. There's tons of pharmaceutical suppliers in the world and prison systems have trouble finding ones that will supply execution drugs at any price. The vast majority of people simply do not want to be part of capital punishment.

And as for who pays, it's the taxpayer. Given the actual execution and all of the legal hurdles involved, it is a good bit cheaper to just incarcerate somebody for life. Which makes you wonder why some people are so dead set on having a death penalty when for less money we can just lock them up and throw away the key.

[–] funkless_eck@sh.itjust.works 10 points 6 days ago (1 children)

They tried the nitrogen hypoxia

Smith was strapped to a gurney wearing a full-face mask. His last words were said to be, "Tonight, Alabama causes humanity to take a step backwards. Thank you for supporting me. Love all of you."[2] The nitrogen gas was administered beginning at 7:57 p.m.[27] Some witnesses commented that Smith looked as if he was conscious for several minutes[28][27] and "thrashed violently on the gurney",[2] breathing heavily for several minutes before his breathing was no longer visible.[28] Smith appeared to lose consciousness at 8:02 p.m.[27] It appeared death occurred when movement of Smith ceased at 8:08 p.m.[27] The curtain to the witness room closed at 8:15 p.m.[29] He was pronounced dead at 8:25 p.m.[30]

[–] SirEDCaLot@lemmy.today 10 points 6 days ago (4 children)

I saw that. Somebody seriously fucked something up there. My guess is whatever mask setup they use wasn't giving him 100% nitrogen, or possibly he was holding his breath and fighting it.

I've also considered the possibility that he just didn't want to validate nitrogen as a form of execution, so he made a conscious decision to make it look as painful as possible. If so I say fucking good for him. One of the reasons I would never help write night an execution protocol, even though I could do it, is I don't want to further legitimize capital punishment in the US. And if there is an easy instant painless bloodless way to execute someone, that is one of the arguments against capital punishment that goes away.

load more comments (4 replies)
load more comments (5 replies)
[–] Schemen110676@lemmy.ml 5 points 5 days ago

You assume that killing animals goes well all the time.. its doesn't and we mostly dont kill them before we butcher them.

Usually they are just stunned and the bled to death.

Which if course works but.. not all the time.

load more comments (6 replies)
[–] cattywampas@lemmy.world 36 points 6 days ago

What an unnecessary fiasco.

[–] stephen@lazysoci.al 26 points 6 days ago (2 children)

How is it that these United States, which kills loads of people through military, police, and imperialism, and for profit healcare, but mess up killing one woman who doesn’t have the ability to resist her own death?

[–] Zahille7@lemmy.world 23 points 6 days ago (4 children)

Because - and I can't stress this enough - there is a severe case of "I really don't give a shit" that permeates literally every professional role in the US. From fast food to federal government, there are way way too many people who just literally do not give a shit.

It's compounded in the bureaucratic jobs because those are the people the rest of us rely on to get the proper information to the people who need it (i.e. medical records to a doctor, passing info from one party to another), and entirely too often is there literally always something missing that would have taken all of 5 seconds worth of extremely little effort to make sure everything was correct.

It's honestly astounding just how little everyone seems to care bout anything that isn't directly involving themselves or someone they know personally.

[–] searabbit@piefed.social 18 points 6 days ago

I think it's because we're all beaten down into not caring. In the US, every job is designed to extract as much labor for as little compensation as possible. Therefore, the more you go above and beyond in your job, effectively the less you get out of it. If you refuse to stop caring, you just get burnt out and replaced like a piece of broken equipment.

load more comments (3 replies)
load more comments (1 replies)

'Significant injuries to both arms' makes it clear they didn't have a fuckin clue how to find a vein. They were jabbing away, and it sounds like they injected into tissue. A junkie would have done a better job. That statement is very rarely true, and it's a sad indictment of their competence.

load more comments
view more: next ›