# 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:** 5
**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 2, 2026, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tennessee-fails-to-execute-the-execution-of-christa-pike-twice/1033507/81 "2026-10-02T00:37:35Z")
Is there any evidence that this happened in this case? ---
**Author:** ![CaveMike](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cavemike/32/16379_2.png) [@CaveMike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CaveMike)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2026, 12:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tennessee-fails-to-execute-the-execution-of-christa-pike-twice/1033507/82 "2026-10-02T00:44:42Z")
> [@filmore](#): > > Even if they try to restrain the person’s arm, the person would still be able to twitch and move enough to make getting the needle into a vein a big challenge. They are completely strapped down from head to toe. Once they are strapped in, they aren’t moving their arm. [This is a photo](https://www.wkms.org/2014-05-23/tennessee-gov-oks-allowing-electric-chair-for-executions) from 1999 of the TN gurney. ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2026, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tennessee-fails-to-execute-the-execution-of-christa-pike-twice/1033507/83 "2026-10-02T00:56:42Z")
> [@wolfpup](#): > > Very true, but the fact that funds were raised from the community for the parents to travel to watch the execution means many other people felt the same way. It speaks to a culture of retribution, which is why executions are carried out as semi-public spectacles, albeit with a limited audience. Have you considered it might be less about retribution and more about helping the family find closure? As far as I know, closure isn’t typically found after an execution, but that doesn’t mean a lot of people don’t believe it might. And, yes, we have a culture of retribution. Justice cannot exist without some form of retribution. ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2026, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tennessee-fails-to-execute-the-execution-of-christa-pike-twice/1033507/84 "2026-10-02T01:03:46Z")
“Closure” doesn’t mean anything other than “finish him”. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2026, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tennessee-fails-to-execute-the-execution-of-christa-pike-twice/1033507/85 "2026-10-02T01:08:12Z")
> [@Odesio](#): > > Have you considered it might be less about retribution and more about helping the family find closure? Considered and rejected. A fair trial provides closure. The execution provides nothing desirable. ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2026, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tennessee-fails-to-execute-the-execution-of-christa-pike-twice/1033507/86 "2026-10-02T01:12:22Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > Considered and rejected. A fair trial provides closure. The execution provides nothing desirable. Can you provide any evidence that trials provide closure? As far as I understand it, neither trial nor execution truly provides closure for most families. But if you have other information I’d be happy to learn. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2026, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tennessee-fails-to-execute-the-execution-of-christa-pike-twice/1033507/87 "2026-10-02T01:12:40Z")
> [@Odesio](#): > > Have you considered it might be less about retribution and more about helping the family find closure? Do they still execute people when their victims don’t have any family? ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2026, 1:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tennessee-fails-to-execute-the-execution-of-christa-pike-twice/1033507/88 "2026-10-02T01:13:47Z")
I can’t really disagree with most of that, although I find the word “closure” to be a slippery euphemism. I think it applies to situations like a missing person, who is finally found, whether dead or alive. It also applies to homicides where the perp has not been captured and is running free. Bringing the perp to justice is a valid form of closure. But I just think that the death penalty is inherently barbaric and staging it as a semi-public spectacle is reprehensible. I’ll say again that obviously I totally sympathize with the grieving parents of the deceased girl, and yet the idea of them traveling to Tennessee to witness the execution is so morbid that in a way I’m glad that all they got to see was the perp being sedated into a nice nap. Yes, the parents deserve closure. Their closure should be that the perp was captured, convicted, and will never again see the light of day. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2026, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tennessee-fails-to-execute-the-execution-of-christa-pike-twice/1033507/89 "2026-10-02T01:19:08Z")
> [@Odesio](#): > > Have you considered it might be less about retribution and more about helping the family find closure? If the family of the victim in this case still hasn’t found closure 31 years after their loved one’s murder, and are hoping to find it in the murderer’s execution, then I feel very sorry for them, indeed. ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2026, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tennessee-fails-to-execute-the-execution-of-christa-pike-twice/1033507/90 "2026-10-02T01:20:18Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > Do they still execute people when their victims don’t have any family? You’re replying to a tangent about people raising money for family members go witness an execution. Your question has nothing to do with that. > [@wolfpup](#): > > I can’t really disagree with most of that, although I find the word “closure” to be a slippery euphemism. I’m not arguing here an execution brings closure to many families as evidence would suggest it isn’t true. Only that a lot of people might believe it does and thus inclined to donate some money to help family travel to witness an execution. i.e. There might be additional motivations behind the donations than, “Let 'em fry!” > [@wolfpup](#): > > But I just think that the death penalty is inherently barbaric and staging it as a semi-public spectacle is reprehensible. I suppose we should be more civilized and lock them in a cage for the rest of their life. Keep in mind, I’m against the death penalty like most everyone else here, but I can’t pretend it’s any more barbaric than caging people like animals. Even if you cage them in ideal conditions it’s still a cage. ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2026, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tennessee-fails-to-execute-the-execution-of-christa-pike-twice/1033507/91 "2026-10-02T01:25:59Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > If the family of the victim in this case still hasn’t found closure 31 years after their loved one’s murder, and are hoping to find it in the murderer’s execution, then I feel very sorry for them, indeed. Me too. Even after more than forty years, I don’t think my grandparents ever got a sense of closure regarding my uncle’s suicide. Now that I think about it, I wonder if lingering on court proceedings, the trial, and the sentence can exacerbate the pain for families? ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2026, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tennessee-fails-to-execute-the-execution-of-christa-pike-twice/1033507/92 "2026-10-02T01:28:21Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > > [@LSLGuy](#): > > > > We have lots of ways of killing people and animals w near zero possibility of fuckups > > Such as? Since hanging and decapitations both have had screw-ups, often of historical importance. We kill millions of cows and pigs, and billions of chickens every year > **[2026 U.S. Animal Kill Clock](https://animalclock.org/)** > > Each year, billions of intelligent animals are bred for slaughter on factory farms. The 2026 U.S. Animal Kill Clock estimates a real-time count of animal deaths attributable to production of the U.S. food supply. I’m sure there are occasional temporary failures. But you know what, most of those animals are killed quickly. Vets kill a lot of animals, too. And they do it painlessly and with a nearly-zero failure rate. > [@kenobi\_65](#): > > If the family of the victim in this case still hasn’t found closure 31 years after their loved one’s murder, and are hoping to find it in the murderer’s execution, then I feel very sorry for them, indeed. Seriously! The way to find closure is to bury the body, or engage in similar funeral rites. People mourn for a long time after “closure”, but killing someone else doesn’t bring your loved one back, you still gotta mourn. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2026, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tennessee-fails-to-execute-the-execution-of-christa-pike-twice/1033507/93 "2026-10-02T01:29:21Z")
> [@Odesio](#): > > You’re replying to a tangent about people raising money for family members go witness an execution. Your question has nothing to do with that. Yep, I missed the context, and my question was therefore dumb. Apologies. ---
**Author:** ![wolfpup](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpup/32/10618_2.png) [@wolfpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolfpup)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2026, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tennessee-fails-to-execute-the-execution-of-christa-pike-twice/1033507/94 "2026-10-02T01:33:30Z")
> [@Odesio](#): > > > [@wolfpup](#): > > > > But I just think that the death penalty is inherently barbaric and staging it as a semi-public spectacle is reprehensible. > > I suppose we should be more civilized and lock them in a cage for the rest of their life. Keep in mind, I’m against the death penalty like most everyone else here, but I can’t pretend it’s any more barbaric than caging people like animals. Even if you cage them in ideal conditions it’s still a cage. In some cases that’s true. My understanding is that the US federal supermax prison, ADX Florence, Colorado, is specifically designed to be a horrific experience of isolation like that with no social interaction. Most prisons aren’t like that, though. It’s a miserable, highly structured existence with very few personal freedoms, but it has a moral justification: it keeps dangerous offenders off the street. There’s no moral justification for killing a fellow human, no matter how vile, and a society that endorses the practice – especially one that stages the execution as a spectacle – is undermining its moral foundation. ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2026, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tennessee-fails-to-execute-the-execution-of-christa-pike-twice/1033507/95 "2026-10-02T01:38:21Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > Yep, I missed the context, and my question was therefore dumb. Apologies. Aw, man. By the laws of the internet I think we’re legally obligated to fight, but you’re making it difficult by being so nice and reasonable. Don’t sweat it, there’s a lot going on in the thread and it’s easy to get mixed up. Your courtesy is both appreciated and acknowledged. One of the reasons I like this place. ---
**Author:** ![Magiver](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4491bb/32.png) [@Magiver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Magiver)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2026, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tennessee-fails-to-execute-the-execution-of-christa-pike-twice/1033507/96 "2026-10-02T02:02:04Z")
I have no problem with the death penalty but a life sentence with no parole is cheaper and probably harder on the convicted. Very few people get to drift off into the inevitable in a drug induced sleep. Well except for drug users. A life sentence also offers the chance for the innocent to go free. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2026, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tennessee-fails-to-execute-the-execution-of-christa-pike-twice/1033507/97 "2026-10-02T02:12:35Z")
> [@Odesio](#): > > Now that I think about it, I wonder if lingering on court proceedings, the trial, and the sentence can exacerbate the pain for families? I wonder, as well. AIUI, in most U.S. states which have the death penalty, a death sentence leads to a lengthy appeal and review process – typically on the order of 20-ish years between the sentence, and the execution. In the case of Christa Pike, she was convicted and sentenced to death in March of 1996. ---
**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 2, 2026, 2:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tennessee-fails-to-execute-the-execution-of-christa-pike-twice/1033507/98 "2026-10-02T02:37:14Z")
Have there been any studies on the effects on families of the victims when the wrong person is executed? ---
**Author:** ![I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/i_love_me_vol.i/32/521_2.png) [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/I_Love_Me_Vol.I)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2026, 4:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tennessee-fails-to-execute-the-execution-of-christa-pike-twice/1033507/99 "2026-10-02T04:09:00Z")
> [@WolfpackJeep](#): > > The state wanted her dead but failed, so now she’s receiving lifesaving medical care. I wonder about the moment of transition–the moment state officials decided/declared/whatever that they are switching from trying to kill her to trying to save her. Really awkward! But there was a definite moment----a fraction of a millisecond-- where the state’s desired outcome did about as serious of a 180 that you’ll ever see. I wonder if they “counted off” for the transition from killing to lifesaving like what EMTs do when they’re moving a patient from say a back board to a gurney. **Prison Big Cheese** : “OK now everybody, on the count of three. One, two…” **Prison Small Cheese:** “Wait… on the count of three _what_?” **Prison Big Cheese** : “On three take out all the Death tubes and put in all the Life tubes. And don’t get them confused!” > [@DrDeth](#): > > Remember, only one gun has a real bullet. Can I see a cite for that? I always thought it was one gun has a blank. ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [October 2, 2026, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tennessee-fails-to-execute-the-execution-of-christa-pike-twice/1033507/100 "2026-10-02T04:31:43Z")
> [@I\_Love\_Me\_Vol.I](#): > > **Prison Big Cheese** : “OK now everybody, on the count of three. One, two…” > **Prison Small Cheese:** “Wait… on the count of three _what_?” > **Prison Big Cheese** : “On three take out all the Death tubes and put in all the Life tubes. And don’t get them confused!” Sometime in the 90s or early aughts, I saw a documentary on TLC, A&E, or a similar channel back when they still showed educational material. This particular show followed the staff and guards at a death row facility in Texas (I think) in the days leading up to an execution. You could see the psychological toll this was taking on the staff and guards at the prison. One of the many reasons I became (mildly) anti-death penalty was because I don’t think it’s necessary to inflict that kind of stress on guards and staff. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tennessee-fails-to-execute-the-execution-of-christa-pike-twice/1033507.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tennessee-fails-to-execute-the-execution-of-christa-pike-twice/1033507.md?page=6)