# Tennessee Fails to Execute the Execution of Christa Pike. Twice **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [October 1, 2026, 8:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tennessee-fails-to-execute-the-execution-of-christa-pike-twice/1033507 "2026-10-01T08:24:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2026, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tennessee-fails-to-execute-the-execution-of-christa-pike-twice/1033507/21 "2026-10-01T14:11:12Z")
> [@HMS\_Irruncible](#): > > If we could magically read someone’s mind and know they were guilty and understand their state of mind, I’d be all for executing the worst murderers and rapists, not being especially concerned about their level of suffering That’s also my position. And if you did have that foolproof method of proving guilt, kill them quickly. Every day that a murder keeps breathing is a continuing insult to the victims. ---
**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2026, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tennessee-fails-to-execute-the-execution-of-christa-pike-twice/1033507/22 "2026-10-01T14:48:07Z")
> [@Darren\_Garrison](#): > > to the victims. That statement is wrong. Jail them for life and the victim will not be insulted. Is there no prescription period for murder in the USA? In Germany there is not, in Spain there is (20 years). ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2026, 2:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tennessee-fails-to-execute-the-execution-of-christa-pike-twice/1033507/23 "2026-10-01T14:49:50Z")
> [@Pardel-Lux](#): > > Is there no prescription period for murder in the USA? There is not. Many convicted murderers are sentence to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Many others are sentenced to life in prison, but with the possibility of parole (e.g., early release due to good behavior and contrition). In states with the death penalty, life in prison is sometimes offered as an incentive to “cop a plea,” i.e. the murderer does something seen as beneficial, such as providing information that could lead to the arrest of others, or avoiding a jury trial and its stress on the victim’s family. ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2026, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tennessee-fails-to-execute-the-execution-of-christa-pike-twice/1033507/24 "2026-10-01T14:50:50Z")
Yup. Our really long sentences in the US are why our murder rate is so much lower than other Western countries. It’s working like a charm! ---
**Author:** ![Frodo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frodo/32/302_2.png) [@Frodo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frodo)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2026, 2:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tennessee-fails-to-execute-the-execution-of-christa-pike-twice/1033507/25 "2026-10-01T14:52:47Z")
And if it’s not is because you are not imprisoning enough people! floggings will continue until morale improves! ---
**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2026, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tennessee-fails-to-execute-the-execution-of-christa-pike-twice/1033507/26 "2026-10-01T14:54:17Z")
No, you got me wrong. Prescription happens when you are not caught. The sentences for murder in Spain can be longer than 20 years, but if you are not judged and sentenced in 20 years counting from the day the murder is commited, you are free\*. **[Cite in Spanish.](https://www.abogado-penalista.es/cuando-prescribe-un-asesinato/):** (and I see the word I should have used is statute of limitations, sorry) > Statute of Limitations for the Crime of Homicide > > Statute of limitations for the crime: The statute of limitations for the crime of homicide is 15 years, calculated from the very day the crime was committed. > > Statute of limitations for the sentence: A prison sentence of more than ten years but less than fifteen years imposed for the crime of homicide in a final judgment is subject to a 20-year statute of limitations. > > Statute of Limitations for the Crime of Murder > > Statute of Limitations for the Crime: The statute of limitations for the crime of murder is 20 years, calculated from the very day the crime was committed. > > Statute of Limitations for the Sentence: A prison sentence of more than fifteen years but less than twenty years imposed for the crime of murder in a final judgment is subject to a statute of limitations of 25 years. \* ETA: There are exceptions, of course, for instance for particularly evil deeds like genocide, mass murder, and some more. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2026, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tennessee-fails-to-execute-the-execution-of-christa-pike-twice/1033507/27 "2026-10-01T15:00:47Z")
Part of the issue is the we have this weird belief that the last moments of the death row inmate’s life should be cruelty-free, as if execution itself was not cruel. So we come up with these bizarre attempts to provide a nice death, with no suffering. when the only nice death is a quick one, and suffering is part of the process because you in fact die. I don’t suppoet the death penalty, but this wouldn’t happen with a guillotine. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2026, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tennessee-fails-to-execute-the-execution-of-christa-pike-twice/1033507/28 "2026-10-01T15:02:09Z")
> [@Pardel-Lux](#): > > I see the word I should have used is statute of limitations, sorry Ah, got it! No, there is no statute of limitations for homicide in the US, neither at the federal level, nor within any of the 50 states. In the last five years or so, there have been a remarkable number of murder cases from the 1960s, 70s, and 80s that were finally solved thanks to advances in DNA technology (and the dogged efforts to take advantage of this). It seems odd to me that Spanish law would prohibit such efforts. (Perhaps this is becoming a hijack – maybe deserves its own thread). ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2026, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tennessee-fails-to-execute-the-execution-of-christa-pike-twice/1033507/29 "2026-10-01T15:04:24Z")
It’s really so that it doesn’t look violent and bloody to the observers. As you say, a guillotine looks barbaric, but is quicker and more painless than lethal injection. Lethal injections are botched and cause pain and suffering at the end, but look clean and medical. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2026, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tennessee-fails-to-execute-the-execution-of-christa-pike-twice/1033507/30 "2026-10-01T15:06:06Z")
> [@Dr.Drake](#): > > Part of the issue is the we have this weird belief that the last moments of the death row inmate’s life should be cruelty-free, as if execution itself was not cruel. It’s not a weird belief. It’s Constitutional Law and torturing them to death is certainly worse than at least trying for painlessly as possible. I’m against the death penalty too but come on. > [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](#): > > During the execution attempt Ms. Pike reportedly said she felt a burning pain in her arm. She also asked if this was normal. I’ve seen speculation online that the IV starter person missed the vein and inserted the needle into surrounding muscle instead. But they did this _deliberately_. > > Which resulted in: > > 1. The burning pain > 2. Pike not dying > > I don’t normally go for speculation with this kind of thing but I include this because it’s such an elegant (if potentially painful and risky) sabotage. But again—that is total speculation. Missing the vein on purpose would mean that she wouldn’t die, not that she’d die more slowly and painfully. This was very clearly incompetence. There is no other reasonable explanation. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2026, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tennessee-fails-to-execute-the-execution-of-christa-pike-twice/1033507/31 "2026-10-01T15:11:43Z")
> [@Pardel-Lux](#): > > That statement is wrong. Jail them for life and the victim will not be insulted. My statement is a personal opinion, just as yours is a personal opinion. Therefore neither can be objectively wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Pardel-Lux](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pardel-lux/32/20182_2.png) [@Pardel-Lux](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pardel-Lux)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2026, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tennessee-fails-to-execute-the-execution-of-christa-pike-twice/1033507/32 "2026-10-01T15:24:33Z")
Right. Wrong hijack anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2026, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tennessee-fails-to-execute-the-execution-of-christa-pike-twice/1033507/33 "2026-10-01T15:29:35Z")
> [@HMS\_Irruncible](#): > > some people just need killing, but it’s impossible to be sure enough that we’re doing it right. No-some people need to kill, and other people elect them because they also need to kill…but are so cowardly that they can only do it by proxy. ---
**Author:** ![scudsucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scudsucker/32/14101_2.png) [@scudsucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scudsucker)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2026, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tennessee-fails-to-execute-the-execution-of-christa-pike-twice/1033507/34 "2026-10-01T15:50:23Z")
> [@HMS\_Irruncible](#): > > Any professional who performs injections or blood draws will tell you that everything you said is simply wrong. I suggest you read [this guidance](https://www.mkuh.nhs.uk/patient-information-leaflet/home-intravenous-iv-antibiotic-teaching-pack-for-children-parents-carers-of-children-with-cystic-fibrosis-cf) from the NHS. While it deals, specifically, for homecare IV insertions, it has the following suggestions: > [@](#): > > The training may take up to 5 days to complete… > … **You will be expected to:** > > 1. Learn how to give IV antibiotics safely and competently via an IV Line/PortaCath… Given that there is a bunch more to do on that page, taking up the rest of the 5 days, I’d say the IV training is not a complicated thing to teach to the prison guards. Let’s give them a full day to learn. I take it you are a “professional who performs injections or blood draws”? Or, is everything you say simply wrong? ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2026, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tennessee-fails-to-execute-the-execution-of-christa-pike-twice/1033507/35 "2026-10-01T15:57:01Z")
> [@scudsucker](#): > > Given that there is a bunch more to do on that page, taking up the rest of the 5 days, I’d say the IV training is not a complicated thing to teach to the prison guards. Let’s give them a full day to learn. As far as the technical procedure for administering an injection in theory, in ideal conditions, this can be delivered in a day. This absolutely does not provide enough experience or expertise to cover every variation in anatomy and body type, or everything that can go wrong. > [@scudsucker](#): > > I take it you are a “professional who performs injections or blood draws”? Or, is everything you say simply wrong? _sigh_ okay, let’s compare credentials. I’m a former US Army Combat Medic who was required to complete an EMT certification as part (but not all) of my training. I’ve performed hundreds of IV administrations, injections, and blood draws. Your turn, what’s your expertise in this field? University of Google? ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2026, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tennessee-fails-to-execute-the-execution-of-christa-pike-twice/1033507/36 "2026-10-01T15:57:40Z")
> [@Dr.Drake](#): > > Part of the issue is the we have this weird belief that the last moments of the death row inmate’s life should be cruelty-free, as if execution itself was not cruel. So we come up with these bizarre attempts to provide a nice death, with no suffering. when the only nice death is a quick one, and suffering is part of the process because you in fact die. when done properly, a person is knocked unconscious by barbiturates during lethal injection so they don’t consciously feel pain, the same way someone who is unconscious during surgery doesn’t feel pain. If we really wanted a cruelty free method of execution, we would just give someone a large dose of opioids or barbiturates to stop their breathing. But sadly we have this balance of wanting to be cruel enough without being too cruel. Also this entire situation is sad. Pike committed the crime at 18 and Pike experienced severe sexual abuse as a child. This wasn’t a serial killer like Ted Bundy, it was a traumatized teenager who made a bad decision. ---
**Author:** ![Lord\_Feldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lord_feldon/32/341_2.png) [@Lord\_Feldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Feldon)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2026, 4:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tennessee-fails-to-execute-the-execution-of-christa-pike-twice/1033507/37 "2026-10-01T16:07:17Z")
> [@Wesley\_Clark](#): > > If we really wanted a cruelty free method of execution, we would just give someone a large dose of opioids or barbiturates to stop their breathing. Some states now use a single large dose of a barbiturate rather than the complicated three-drug protocol from the 80s. Tennessee is one of them. It didn’t work. ---
**Author:** ![scudsucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scudsucker/32/14101_2.png) [@scudsucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scudsucker)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2026, 4:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tennessee-fails-to-execute-the-execution-of-christa-pike-twice/1033507/38 "2026-10-01T16:09:39Z")
> [@HMS\_Irruncible](#): > > Your turn, what’s your expertise in this field? Google? Always fun to get into a pissing contest. My credentials are listed above, having succesfully used an IV both on humans (myself and others) and animals. I think I made that clear. Great to hear you have some experience in this area, too. Are you stating that simply training the prison officers to do the IV is not a valid solution to the problem that medical experts are unwilling to do the ethically dubious IV insert? Because, inserting the IV is not a hard problem, as no doubt you have seen in your own career. It is a routine “operation” in every hospital, surgery, blood donation center, or clinic. Literally hundreds of thousands of people can do this in every city all over the world. ---
**Author:** ![Wesley\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wesley_clark/32/20581_2.png) [@Wesley\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wesley_Clark)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2026, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tennessee-fails-to-execute-the-execution-of-christa-pike-twice/1033507/39 "2026-10-01T16:10:17Z")
> [@Lord\_Feldon](#): > > Some states now use a single large dose of a barbiturate rather than the complicated three-drug protocol from the 80s. Tennessee is one of them. It didn’t work. ah, my mistake. I thought states were still using the 3 drug protocol. ---
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [October 1, 2026, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tennessee-fails-to-execute-the-execution-of-christa-pike-twice/1033507/40 "2026-10-01T16:10:32Z")
> [@scudsucker](#): > > Given that there is a bunch more to do on that page, taking up the rest of the 5 days, I’d say the IV training is not a complicated thing to teach to the prison guards. Let’s give them a full day to learn. Let’s find a medical professional willing to teach a prison guard how to do it to a death row inmate, and doesn’t care if they are publicly condemned by their compatriots. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tennessee-fails-to-execute-the-execution-of-christa-pike-twice/1033507.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tennessee-fails-to-execute-the-execution-of-christa-pike-twice/1033507.md?page=3)