I belive I recently heard that a firing squad had gone wrong as well. Maybe no one wants to be the best shot.

"While her crime was horrific I can not think of what she did wasn’t affected by all those extremely unfavorable factors. Killing her (again) would be a crime against humanity. IMO, compassion does not require denying the horror of a crime. Sometimes it requires refusing to let that horror determine the limits of our humanity."

Mmmmm...palisades..I truly doubt that very seriously. If we could only just ask Colleen Slemmer how she felt. Yes, that is/was her name. I didn't see her name written by anyone on here-so thought I would add it...you know...since she WAS THE VICTIM.

I don't know...I wonder what feels worse? Being horribly beaten, slashed with a box cutter-and a pentagram carved into her chest...all before she was eventually killed by trauma to her skull. (Then a piece of her skull was taken). Or what the KILLER Christa Pike went through-who happens to still be alive 30 years later-who had to live through...a needle in the arm that she said felt like it was about to burst-and said a spot was burning and she asked if that was normal. Then back to a hospital bed, where she woke back up. Does not even compare. Not even close.

edited

An execution is going to be livestreamed?!

What’s next with these sickos?

Feeding people to the lions?

You can call it eye for an eye if you want. That still doesn’t erase Colleen Slemmer. Again...Pike beat her, slashed her with a box cutter, carved a pentagram into her chest, killed her, and took a piece of her skull. Pike is still alive 30 years later-she...AND her family is able to see her and even have dinner with her if they want. Colleen is DEAD. Her mother went to see the sentence carried out and said she didn’t get justice. That’s not revenge. That’s remembering who the victim was.

edited oops! fixed my "isn't" error

Colleen isn’t DEAD

colleen is quite DEAD.

Ollie WWJD?

No one is saying Colleen’s killer shouldnt be punished, but some of us don’t want to be killers, too. If we condone Capital punishment, it makes us all killers. Doesn’t that break one of the ten commandments? Of course it does.

I don't have a strong moral or ethical opposition to the death penalty, but I have a problem with how we are carrying out the sentence.

Death by lethal injection is what we landed on as the most humane method of euthanasia for our pets. Logically, it should be the most humane method for humans as well.

Honestly, while working in the humane industry, not every euthanasia went perfectly, but out of the thousands of animals I held and gave a final moment of love before they passed away, only a handful did not die on the first attempt.

What most people don’t realize is why the process works so reliably for animals: when a dog or cat is euthanized, we are using high-quality, FDA-regulated drugs that have been stored carefully under strict medical guidelines to ensure their absolute potency and safety.

But our penal system is not able to use those same quality drugs. The major pharmaceutical companies ban sales for use in lethal injections into humans. They pay local compounding pharmacies to custom mix the drugs with no FDA oversight or smuggle drugs from overseas.

To protect the businesses and the penal system, states have passed "secrecy laws" to hide where the drugs are coming from.

No matter where you stand on the death penalty morally, I think there is a serious problem when our justice system uses a lower standard of care for humans than we legally require for animals in a shelter. It is hard to argue that a system relying on secret, unapproved compounds and illegal imports can ever be considered "humane."

Beyond the faulty drugs, there is a deeper cruelty to the human system that my time in the shelter helped me see: the torture of extreme, prolonged confinement.

In the animal welfare world, we know that kenneled animals who are left isolated for too long inevitably face a massive psychological break. They experience severe "kennel deterioration." They develop compulsive behaviors like pacing until their paws bleed, becoming hyper-aggressive, or completely shutting down and refusing to eat. In the worst cases, the mounting panic and isolation turn inward, and they will literally mutilate themselves—I even saw a dog chew off its own leg and bleed to death overnight. It is one of my greatest arguments against

"No Kill" shelters.

Yet, in our justice system, we force human beings to sit in identical conditions of extreme isolation for an average of 15 to 20+ years awaiting execution. Again, if I find something cruel treatment for an animal, how can I call it humane when inflicted on a human?

i agree with you, jennifer, but what alternatives do we have when it comes to death row inmates? either our justice system is terribly broken (that probably goes w/o saying) or we build more prisons to house long-term individuals who, for obvious reasons, will never know freedom.

on another note, it isn't always shelter animals that suffer. every day i drive down my rural road, i see the same dogs tied to trees or dilapidated dog houses or no shelter at all. our animal control out here is non-existent. i once called the sheriff's office to report a short-haired dog tied to a tree in the dead of winter with only a cardboard box for shelter. it took them 4 days to come out and talk to the owner. nothing changed. some of the "lucky" hunting dogs are kept in roomy kennels but still have very little human contact.

when i lived in town, we shared a back chain link fence with a neighbor. they always had a GSD. when one would die, they'd go out and get a puppy and the cycle would start all over. when the puppy was no longer cute and playful, it would be ignored other than to be fed/watered. in all my years in that house, i saw it many, many times. the poor dog would bark non-stop, and never stop moving. it would pace inside the fence and become so neutrotic that i could literally count its steps, know exactly the spot where it would turn its direction of travel and soon, there would be a trench in the ground because of the repedative pacing. every one of these dogs turned aggressive. if i went anywhere near the fence, i would be charged by a snarling dog bent on attack.

the last GSD they had lived this way for 10 or 11 years. one day, i didn't see him and it being winter, just figured he was in his dog house. i found out weeks later that indeed, that's where he was. putting 2 and 2 together, i realized that he had been dead for 3 days before they finally found him because it had been that many days before it was time to refill his bucket.

I'm one of the few here who is pro capital punishment. But I want to see it be extremely rare. I want those cases to be tried to an even higher standard: with absolutely no doubt. Plus, I want it only for those cases where the perp is so dangerous that to risk his escape presents a serious danger to society. ted bundy escaped from prison before he killed again. Or like aum shinrikyo who released the sarin gas in the Tokyo subway system. And I want it to be applied humanely and not a public spectacle. It's not about punishment or retribution. It's about someone presenting such a danger to society that unless eliminated society is still at risk. I would put bin laden in that camp too and the unabomber.

Oops! Thanks Ninapearl! Hopefully my comment makes sense now.

Well said, Annie.

You're right, I didn't say the victim's name. But did you bother to find out who the other person was that beat her? What happened to them? Because it ain't right either.

FWIW…

Christa Pike had two main accomplices in the 1995 murder of classmate Colleen Slemmer:

• Tadaryl Shipp: Pike's boyfriend at the time. He and Pike tortured and bludgeoned Slemmer to death in the woods in Knoxville, Tennessee. Because Shipp was 17 years old at the time, he could not receive the death penalty. He was convicted of first-degree murder and conspiracy, and sentenced to life plus 25 years in prison. He was denied parole in October 2025 and will be eligible again in 2031.
• Shadolla Peterson: A classmate who was present during the crime. She pleaded guilty to being an accessory after originally facing murder charges. She received a sentence of six years of probation (with credit for time served) after cooperating with prosecutors.

ETA - I haven’t read the details, but it sounds like Pike was also involved in an attempted murder of another inmate and a prison escape.

I do not oppose the death penalty.

I save my sympathy for the victims and their families.

This creature was not wrongfully convicted. She gave a full confession, giggled throughout her trial, and only showed emotion when she received her sentence.

She ALSO, btw, tried to murder another inmate while in prison. We just gonna ignore that?

I do not care if she is a little uncomfy. In fact, I do not care if she is in unspeakable agony.

Many many people who walk among us have suffered in childhood, and endured horrible abuse. Not many feel the need to torture, maim, and murder an innocent person and keep a piece of her skull for funsies. Those that do feel that have no place in the world. They need to be eliminated.

Tennessee messed up. She asked to be hanged, They should have obliged.

“I do not care if she is a little uncomfy. In fact, I do not care if she is in unspeakable agony.”

Sort of like how she felt about her victim? I want to be better than that.

Why didn't you address anything else I said?

Whatever makes you feel better about yourself. I want the world overall to be better. It will be better whens she's dead.

Excusing the behavior of people like this and trying to find excuses to coddle them is the same as asking "well what was she wearing" when a woman is raped. Its disgusting.

I would argue that life imprisonment is crueler than a swift, clean death. It’s certainly cheaper, since it avoids the expensive appeals a death sentence usually goes through.

I was listening to a radio discussion regarding the botched execution and the American law professor commenting pointed out that US states which have abolished the death penalty also have a lower murder rate. So, does a culture of death penalty engender a lower regard for life in criminals? It would be interesting to research that.

While Christa Pike’s crime was horrific and inexcusable, it would appear that time has mellowed her a bit. Apparently she refused her ”last meal”, and asked that the $20 budget for it be instead used to purchase pizza for the homeless in the nearby town. I suspect the authorities didn’t actually do that, but you never know.

Who’s excusing her behavior? Who’s coddling her? Those are really odd interpretations of this discussion.

Anyone who is implying that because she was abused in childhood she somehow was not fully responsible for the heinous deeds she commited against that poor woman and suggesting that some sort of mercy is in order because of it is excusing her behavior.

I didn’t find those interpretations at all. One can try to understand what may have led her to such horrific behavior while still believing she should be held responsible for her actions. Those are not mutually exclusive thoughts. In fact, the ability to hold both those thoughts is a sign of emotional intelligence.

"Trying to understand what may have led her to such horrific behavior" is the same thing as trying to find an excuse for it.

She thought this woman wanted to steal her loser boyfriend. Thats what led to it. And thats it. Anything else is a desperate (and weird) attempt to justify it.

Amylou wrote:

“Anyone who is implying that because she was abused in childhood she somehow was not fully responsible for the heinous deeds she commited against that poor woman and suggesting that some sort of mercy is in order because of it is excusing her behavior.”

Reading comprehension problem? I have not seen anybody here express what you just misinterpreted or twisted around. I stated facts. Facts bother you? It is a fact that she was 18 years old at the time she killed Colleen S..

I gave a source for my information. Here below, I will repeat what I posted. I gave no opinion about what I think should become of Ms. Pike. Please pay careful attention when you read and avoid a knee jerk reaction and clumsy attributions or twisting someone’s words and insinuating their oppinion when non was offered.

What I wrote (from above):

<<

▪️ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christa_Pike

She was a child of alcoholics. Exposed to alcohol in the womb. Sexually abused as a toddler and later at 11 years old. Spent time in a very punitive reform school?boot came sort of place. At some point she was diagnosed as bipolar.

She spent much of her time in prison in solitary confinement (which probably did not help her psychological situation). She was apparently treated much harsher then men similarly charged/incarcerated [law suit].

She’s had an extremely horrible life and she committed a horrendously brutal crime.>>

“…and she committed a horrendously brutal crime.”

Humane treatment does not mean anything but that. It does not mean or suggest that a criminal should be freed, coddled or sent on a Disney vacation.

There is perhaps a petition for Pike to be drawn and quartered or put through a blender, streaming live. You and Kegseth could sign it?

Gleeful violent retribution stains all of us.

No, Amylou, trying to understand what may have led her to such horrific behavior is trying to understand people and their choices.

For example, I find her upbringing tragic and full of abuse and neglect.

At the same time, I find it reprehensible what she did and the fact that she’s been sitting on death row this long. If the death penalty was her sentence, she should have been put to death years ago, apart from a reasonable amount of time for an appeal. Taxpayers have been footing her bill for 30 years, and now, as noted above, are paying even more for these botched executions.

I can want justice for the victim and her family, while still being curious about what led the guilty to commit the crime. See how that works?

Editing to clarify to what post I’m responding.

Amylou: "Why didn't you address anything else I said?"

Because what I responded to is what I wanted to respond to and I didn't really disagree with much of what you wrote.

"Whatever makes you feel better about yourself." I didn't attack your personally or insult you, so please show the same consideration.

And trying to correlate anything anyone has said so far on this thread to "What she was wearing" is a very weird stretch.

No one is excusing her behavior; we want humane punishment.

What does it matter what her childhood was like? Why bring it up? And what does it matter that she was 18? The only reason to bring these facts up is to try to garner sympathy and mercy for someone who does not deserve the courtesy. It is disrespectful to the victim and her family. Period.

Would it have made a difference if it was a 30 year old man with a stellar upbringing that did this? WHY?

Drawn and quartered? I mean, its close to being carved up like her victim was. She didn't care about her victims suffering so why should anyone care about hers?

When the creature was commiting this murder she said " The B-word just wouldn't die" Funny now thats thats what many can say about her.

Ask her other attempted victim if she felt sorry for her while the creature was trying to strangle her to death. I believe she was aged 21 when she did that. Does that make a difference?

There is no glee. Glee would be bringing the victim back. It is justice, plain and simple.

Of course. She was obviously a sociopath who doesn’t warrant empathy. Our prison system pretty much fails at true rehabilitation, but she hasn’t even hinted at remorse even if she wanted to be rehabilitated.

If a 30 yo with a stellar upbringing would have committed this crime, yeah, I’d be curious about his background, too! Anyone who acts this way is so outside the norm, I’d look into their background. You’re trying to paint curiosity with justifying. No one is justifying her behavior.

I completely disagree with Amylou’s narrow, shallow viewpoint.

White and black thinking, all or nothing. There may be supplements that could help.

”She didn't care about her victims suffering so why should anyone care about hers?”

Sounds as though you don’t strive to be any better, wiser, kinder or psychologically healthier than the criminal, Ms. Pike. Tit for tat. Monkey see, monkey do?

Pike brutally tortured and murdered a young woman. Who does not find this horrible?

Imagine being the victim’s family and waiting 30 years for justice, only to have this outcome. It must be re-traumatizing for them. 30 years?!?!

White and black thinking is quite sensible when one is talking about life and death.

The death of her victim. Not just that. The horrible torture she inflicted on her.

The near death of her other victim.

The pain and suffering her victims family will have to carry for the rest of their lives.

Her victims mother wants her dead. I stand with her.

I think all 3 people involved in the murder should have been put to death. But unlike them, I would not lure an innocent person to their torture and death. So you're attempt to paint me with the same brush is ridiculous. Anyone who has not tortured and murdered an innocent woman is better, wiser, kinder and psychologically healthier than someone who has.

She was given a fair trial in the state that she commited her crime in. As I said before, she giggled through a lot of it. She was sentenced within the parameters of the laws of that state. So be it.

The fact that it was botched the first time should make no difference and is not inhumane. They should do it again and again until it sticks. It is not inhumane to carry out the sentence given. Her wittle arm hurting and a hospital stay does not make it inhumane.

My thought after this crazy, botched execution is she now belongs in prison w/o parole. That’s beyond humane for what she did.

I’ve seen the Manson women in prison go in front of the parole board over the years. I think the most recent was Patricia Krenwinkle. She‘s 78 now and looks and sounds like your sweet neighborhood librarian. Her death sentence was commuted to LWOP long ago. Is she a danger to society now? I highly doubt it. She was just granted parole but should our governor approve it? He’s said no before so here’s hoping for the same again. No way should she walk free.

When I was in the 8th grade the kid who sat next to me in math class murdered a woman. He was robbing her house when she came home and surprised him. He stabbed her, rolled her body up in a rug and left. Took no time at all for the police to get him. He was 13! He lived within a mile from our house and years later I saw him walking down the street. I can still see him so clearly. Would be interesting to know where he is now.

^^^ How awful, chloebud. Look him up. I want to know.

I remember around 50 + years ago there was a young teen boy who murdered his neighbor (Somerville, MA area) He was some messed up young man and he was sentenced to life in prison.

Before the neighbor was murdered she had, on more than one occasion, noticed that her belongings had been moved, disturbed. It was her murderous teen neighbor.

Chilling.

Some years later there was another, similar situation in the news. woman noticed items in her home were moved and disturbed. She was also murdered by the person who had been intruding into her home, moving her belongings around.

So, let’s take note. You live alone and your stuff is being moved, messed with? RUN! ;) Get better locks, self defense measures. I wonder if that isn’t a familiar scenario that law enforcement has seen many times. Creepy.

Ever been stalked? Peeped on? I will raise my hand 🖐️

“Look him up. I want to know.”

Trust me, I’ve tried. I did find a link that might mean he’s deceased if it’s the same person. I’m just very curious what happened in his life after age 13. I can remember feeling sorry for him in certain ways. He had a large head with very short cut bangs. He’d also often talk with his teeth clenched closed. Hard to say what was going on at such a young age. He did know the elderly woman he killed. He’d help her around her house with various things.

How all the perpetrators are not equally punished, is beyond my understanding.

I don't know why, and that's what's wrong with our system. I get that not everybody's involved with everything that's happening, but how can you get 6 years? Everybody there should be punished equally. They should all have 25 years to life without the possibility of parole. All of them. Why should anyone get less?

Circumstances matter. Intent matters.

Then there is OJ. Goes to show $$$, Fame, Presitge etc = Free Pass!

I see she’s been released from the hospital and returned to prison.

I read this, just now. It's an excellent point.

"Deborah Denno, a professor at Fordham University School of Law and a death penalty expert, previously told Newsweek that a second attempt to execute Pike could violate the constitutional protection against double jeopardy."

We have laws we're bound by. No matter how much we may be hurt by the offender, they still have rights.

Very interesting point Rob!

I thought double jeopardy meant you can't be tried twice. I don't see how that applies here.

However I am against the death penalty and would be ok with life without parole.

You can't be punished twice is part of that legal principle. I'm not about coddling, or helping her out or anything else like that, but I can't imagine the terror of falling asleep thinking you're dying. That's got to be a pretty big punishment.

I don't know how I feel about this case. While I completely agree that what Christa Pike did was horrific, reading about the case leaves me with little doubt that she suffered from Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD).

Her story reminds me of a girl named Lynn, the adopted daughter of one of my mother’s friends. Lynn exhibited severe behavioral issues early on—rocking endlessly, screaming when touched, hitting and biting other kids. By high school, she was completely out of control. I remember her flinging a chair across the room at our music teacher and throwing a pencil so hard it stuck into a corkboard behind another teacher. In 10th grade her parents placed her in a 24-hour secure facility. They were terrified—both for themselves and for their adopted son. Lynn’s mother confessed to my mom that she lived in constant fear that Lynn would set the house on fire, or seriously injure or kill her little brother.

At that time, her parents were able to get her committed to a secure facility. When her parents passed, Lynn's brother became her custodian. Eventually, the state closed her facility. Thankfully, the parents left enough money for her brother to hire private 24/7 caregivers—but most families aren't that lucky.

Today, civil commitment is incredibly difficult to achieve. People with severe FASD lack basic impulse control, struggle to separate right from wrong, and pose a clear danger to society. Yet, we have no preventative infrastructure. We wait for a crime to happen, throw them in prison, let them out, and expect a different result. But punishment does not work on an organically damaged brain that cannot process cause and effect.

Other countries safely confine individuals who lack the capacity to learn right from wrong or control their behavior in locked group homes with 24/7 care before they harm or kill anyone. Can we truly hold Christa Pike fully accountable for her actions if an organic brain disease prevented her from understanding what she did? We certainly cannot let her go free, but executing her won't stop the next person with FASD from committing a violent act.

Shouldn't we be implementing preventative systems here? Christa Pike committed a murder that could have been prevented by an early diagnosis and the appropriate measures required to safeguard the public from someone capable of such a heinous crime.

If I were the mother of Colleen Slemmer, knowing that something was being done to prevent another similar tragedy would be more comfort than the execution of the mentally ill person who killed my child.

I do understand that my suggestion of permanent custodial care is a slippery slope and needs many safeguards to ensure it is not abused or weaponized, but I am a proponent of "the greater good".

The custom used to be that if for some reason an execution failed, the prisoner was released, as they considered that God had delivered His judgment.

I also wonder if she has fetal alcohol syndrome.

A lot of people want quick, cut and dry simple ”answers” to complex situations. Thoughtful humane consideration takes time and resources and is mocked by ideologues and can quickly score political points.

If I were the mother of Colleen Slemmer, knowing that something was being done to prevent another similar tragedy would be more comfort than the execution of the mentally ill person who killed my child.

While I am sure you did not intend it to be, this statement is really disrespectful to Colleens mother. You are NOT her mother and really, have NO IDEA what your reaction would be if this happened to your child. You know how you think she should feel, which is very condescending and cruel. She is the one who had to endure this, and she has been very clear about what she wants to happen to the monster who brutalized her daughter mercilessly. She wants her executed. Her stance has not changed in 30 years. And besides, perhaps she wants both. Actual justice for her murdered daughter AND prevention against it happening to others.

We certainly cannot let her go free, but executing her won't stop the next person with FASD from committing a violent act.

Her sentence is to deliver justice for HER crime, not to deter others or serve any other purpose other than that. Also, I will keep bringing up that even when incarcerated away from society, she still tried to murder someone. So it appears that incarceration cannot prevent a monster from being a monster either. So the greater good would be served by her elimination, as it serves justice AND prevents her from hurting anyone else. Legal ramifications, be it prison time or the death penalty will NEVER serve as a deterrent or preventative measure for people who are just plain bad.

Her crime was not an impulse or a spontaneous fit of uncontrollable rage brought on by some "organic brain disease". It was planned out ahead of time, and carried out according to that plan. I will emphasize that again. THIS WAS A PLANNED MURDER. They lured her to her brutal death.

She has not been diagnosed with FASD. Not every fetus exposed to alcohol in the womb has FASD. PLEASE PLEASE STOP TRYING TO FIND A JUSTIFICATION FOR HER ACTIONS AND A REASON TO STOP JUSTICE FOR THIS POOR VICTIM AND HER FAMILY. And yes, that is what many people here are doing. Her legal team has had a very long time and many appeals to do that on her behalf, they have, and the courts have ruled that she can and should be executed. And guess what? She knew what she was doing was wrong, she has said so herself many many times in an attempt to appear remorseful to have her sentence commuted. So yes, if you take her own words at face value, you can and should hold her fully responsible for her actions. She herself does.

Dearh penalty takes 30 yrs to fulfill.mAppaewos, trials are exceedingly $$$, a huge tx payer burden. If penalty was carried out upon sentencing, that would be so much better. Hence, I wonder why even have it?

@amylou321 I am sorry that my words upset you so and in no way did I mean to disrespect the mother of Colleen Slemmer. I never implied that the mother of Colleen Slemmer should feel the same way as I do, but I do know in my heart that I would want to prevent another mother from having to go through the same pain and suffering even if it meant that the person who harmed my child would not face the death penalty.

I know that the mother of a girl who was rped and murdered agreed to the DA taking the death penalty off the table in exchange for the perpetrators cooperation in locating the body of my neighbor's daughter who had disappeared a few weeks earlier and two other victims that he rped and murdered. I believe what they did was the right thing. They wanted my neighbor's and the other families to be able to have closure, to know what happened to their little girls and be able to bury their remains. He got life in prison without the possibility of parole. Killing him wouldn't bring back their daughter, but letting him live could help another family going through the same grief.

Imagine if they could have done something not only to help these families get closure, but could have prevented any one of the murders.

This case may be a rare opportunity to be the catalyst for change from a system that hesitates to violate personal liberties and reacts punitively only after a crime has been committed rather than a system that prevents violence from happening in the first place.

" This case may be a rare opportunity to be the catalyst for change "

Don't hold your breath. I think it's very unlikely.