Page 6 | Christa Pikes is awake and ‘talking’

wouldntyouwanthelp · 2026-10-06T21:32:55+00:00

She’s out of the coma and talking to her lawyers. Aibu to think the state of Tennessee can’t possibly try to do the lethal injection again ? Surely not? People on Reddit are suggesting she might need an amputation of one of her arms because of how caustic pentobarbital is. Christa Pike 'conscious and speaking at hospital' after failed execution in US [[https://news.sky.com/share/13595950 https://news.sky.com/share/13595950]]

ThatCyanCat · 07/10/2026 07:18

Hundslappadrifa · 07/10/2026 06:19

Seems like she’s accidentally being tortured to death like the poor girl she killed. No more than she deserves.

Perhaps, but the state isn't supposed to act like a criminal.

OtterlyAstounding · 07/10/2026 07:19

LoisGriffinskitchen · 07/10/2026 07:09

I would not fancy meeting some of you lot here on a dark night with your dark vengeful souls.

Christa has survived two lethal injections. There is no legal precedent for this, at the very least they are going to be tied up legally for a long time and are probably going to have to a rewrite DP laws.

in the meantime they will likely have to commute her sentence to LWOP which is what it should have been at the start. She was 18, an abused kid with an immature and likely stunted brain growth. Add in the fact that the brain does not fully mature until aged 25 or thereabouts and you have a problem.

If I was Colleen’s Mum I’d want the DP too but this won’t bring her daughter back, all it’s done is delay and delay justice as she sees it. Justice should have been LWOP from the start and she could then have mentally thrown away the key,

Edited

I'm dreadfully dangerous on a dark night...if you're a murderer.
(No, not really. I imagine a murderer would best me.)

Personally, I'm not really sure that LWOP, spending decades trapped in the prison system, caged like an animal in amongst other violent people, and unable to ever live an actual life, is more humane than a swift death.

LadyBlueberry · 07/10/2026 07:29

I do think all this hand wringing about her awful childhood and how it should have been taken into account at the time that she was sentenced is dangerous tosh.

I think that because if it becomes an accepted, official view then it won't be very long before it is abused.

Every rapist and murderer-and in most cases the victim is a woman or child-will be able to ask for his woes as a child to be taken into account and you can bet your bottom dollar that his defence team will become adept at finding these woes.

Over time, the definition of an awful childhood will be widened so that it there is a real possibility that a criminal who had his legs slapped by his parent will be judged to be a victim.

That's the way our current world turns.

A bad childhood, no matter how bad, should never be a reason for a reduced sentence and most women should be very wary of putting that forward as something to be attained.

In this particular case, a horrific murder was committed by a woman who then went on to try and commit another one in gaol. I see that a poster has already popped on to try and present that attempted murder as a good deed.

All this is rubbish.

No childhood should be taken into account when a crime has been committed because it makes no difference, it can not be a get out of gaol free card-and it will, it really will, be exploited.

Sorry, Betty, your rapist was sexually abused when he was a child so try to accept that when he raped and blinded you, he was also a victim so he will get a reduced sentence.

And then, 3 years later

Sorry, Doris, your rapist had PDA when he was a child and so he was also a victim when he raped and blinded you, so he will get a reduced sentence.

And then, 8 years later.

Sorry, Doris. Your rapist was brought up in poverty while his mother was at the pub and so he was also a victim when he raped and blinded you, so he will get a reduced sentence.

No-one's childhood should be taken into account for their adult crimes. It's not a discount card.

Frequency · 07/10/2026 07:30

standandsip · 07/10/2026 05:08

Of Pikes crime: She and her boyfriend "bludgeoned her (a 17 year old girl) to death" "Pike thought Slemmer was interested in her boyfriend."

"When Slemmer tried to flee, Pike sliced her stomach with the box cutter. ... As Slemmer begged for her life, Pike repeatedly kicked her in the face. Pike then cut Slemmer’s throat as she begged for mercy," the Tennessee Attorney General's Office wrote in court documents.

After Slemmer made one final attempt to escape, Pike smashed the back of her head with a rock, they wrote. Shipp also carved a pentagram into Slemmer's chest, and Pike later showed off a piece of Slemmer's skull to a friend.

A Tennessee Grounds Department employee first mistook her body for the corpse of an animal because of how badly she had been beaten, according to court records."

I'm not surprised she was given the death penalty. Regardless of her background, she behaved like a mindless, brutal animal. There is no fixing that kind of grotesque animal mindset.

However, given she's done 30 years for this horrific, pre meditated slaughter and experienced torture as they finally tried to execute her, I think most reasonable people would agree that's probably enough actual retribution.

Because justice/retribution matters a LOT for those who have been harmed/murdered and for their loved ones.

And it matters hugely that society sees that retribution/justice is carried out.

"May Martinez, Slemmer's mother, told WBIR-TV that her daughter loved roller skating, computers and playing old games with her family "She was a nerd," Martinez told the station. "But a good nerd."

Martinez traveled to Tennessee for Pike's planned execution.

"I just want Christa down so I can end it, relieve my daughter, so she finally can be resting," she told WBIR-TV in 2021. "There's not a day goes by that I don't think about Colleen or how she died and how rough it was."

She needed to be harshly punished, regardless of her reasons or background.

It follows that in places where the death penalty is allowed, she deserved the death penalty. And if you are going to give the death penalty as a verdict, it should be carried out within a couple of weeks, not 30 years.

Anyway, I doubt they will try to execute her again. However, since she took a life, deliberately, barbarically and savagely, she should have to stay in prison for the rest of her own.

Colleen's mother deserves to know that the people who tortured her child to death, who gave her a filthy, bloody, brutal end, will never be free again.

I think most people will be ok with Pikes dying in prison. And though most wouldn't wish the pain on her, we won't bother feeling too sorry for her.

(PS, if you're pretending you'd be ok with Pikes living in your town, even all these years later, you're lying).

Rest in peace Colleen. I hope your poor mum finds some peace too.

Colleen Slemmer was 19. It doesn't make what happened to her any less horrific, or Pike any less culpable, but this idea that Pike targets people younger and more vulnerable than herself is wrong. Patricia Jones, the inmate Pike attacked in prison, was also older and physically larger than Pike.

LadyBlueberry · 07/10/2026 07:33

Frequency · 07/10/2026 07:30

Colleen Slemmer was 19. It doesn't make what happened to her any less horrific, or Pike any less culpable, but this idea that Pike targets people younger and more vulnerable than herself is wrong. Patricia Jones, the inmate Pike attacked in prison, was also older and physically larger than Pike.

Show quote history

Her second victim was older and bigger than her, you say.

Well, in that case, that absolutely exonerates her and if it doesn't, it really should at the very least be taken into account.

Dear oh dear!

BermudaRhombus · 07/10/2026 07:36

LadyBlueberry · 07/10/2026 07:29

I do think all this hand wringing about her awful childhood and how it should have been taken into account at the time that she was sentenced is dangerous tosh.

I think that because if it becomes an accepted, official view then it won't be very long before it is abused.

Every rapist and murderer-and in most cases the victim is a woman or child-will be able to ask for his woes as a child to be taken into account and you can bet your bottom dollar that his defence team will become adept at finding these woes.

Over time, the definition of an awful childhood will be widened so that it there is a real possibility that a criminal who had his legs slapped by his parent will be judged to be a victim.

That's the way our current world turns.

A bad childhood, no matter how bad, should never be a reason for a reduced sentence and most women should be very wary of putting that forward as something to be attained.

In this particular case, a horrific murder was committed by a woman who then went on to try and commit another one in gaol. I see that a poster has already popped on to try and present that attempted murder as a good deed.

All this is rubbish.

No childhood should be taken into account when a crime has been committed because it makes no difference, it can not be a get out of gaol free card-and it will, it really will, be exploited.

Sorry, Betty, your rapist was sexually abused when he was a child so try to accept that when he raped and blinded you, he was also a victim so he will get a reduced sentence.

And then, 3 years later

Sorry, Doris, your rapist had PDA when he was a child and so he was also a victim when he raped and blinded you, so he will get a reduced sentence.

And then, 8 years later.

Sorry, Doris. Your rapist was brought up in poverty while his mother was at the pub and so he was also a victim when he raped and blinded you, so he will get a reduced sentence.

No-one's childhood should be taken into account for their adult crimes. It's not a discount card.

Your view seems to be very “one size fits all”. Life is a bit more complicated and nuanced than that. Do you think any mitigating circumstances should ever be taken into account?

SummerFeverVenice · 07/10/2026 07:36

Littlejellyuk · 06/10/2026 22:36

Sounds like a case of 'Rasputin'.
He was hard to execute as well. 💯

Remember that her victim, Colleen Slemmer was tortured by being beaten, slashed, and was then carved into her chest before Pike killed her by crushing her skull.
Slemmer's family were devastated.

@wouldntyouwanthelp

Edited

You forgot the man that did the pentagram carving and at least half the torture- Shipp. He got life.

ThereAreOnlyShadesOfGrey · 07/10/2026 07:37

Karma's a bitch,and I have no sympathy for her. Lots of people have horrific pasts but don't end up caving an innocent person's head in.

That line works well when it’s being used to justify horrendous things happening to people when they’ve done something wrong in life.

So tell me, if Karma is retribution for the wrongs people have committed, what did Christa Pike do as a baby to deserve the childhood she had.

Indeed, what did Coleen Slemmer do to justify the murder she suffered?

As for saying that Coleen’s family should decide, would you be saying that if they’d said that this is clearly a sign from God and that they believe Pike should now be released? Nope, didn’t think so.

RedTagAlan · 07/10/2026 07:41

LadyBlueberry · 07/10/2026 07:29

I do think all this hand wringing about her awful childhood and how it should have been taken into account at the time that she was sentenced is dangerous tosh.

I think that because if it becomes an accepted, official view then it won't be very long before it is abused.

Every rapist and murderer-and in most cases the victim is a woman or child-will be able to ask for his woes as a child to be taken into account and you can bet your bottom dollar that his defence team will become adept at finding these woes.

Over time, the definition of an awful childhood will be widened so that it there is a real possibility that a criminal who had his legs slapped by his parent will be judged to be a victim.

That's the way our current world turns.

A bad childhood, no matter how bad, should never be a reason for a reduced sentence and most women should be very wary of putting that forward as something to be attained.

In this particular case, a horrific murder was committed by a woman who then went on to try and commit another one in gaol. I see that a poster has already popped on to try and present that attempted murder as a good deed.

All this is rubbish.

No childhood should be taken into account when a crime has been committed because it makes no difference, it can not be a get out of gaol free card-and it will, it really will, be exploited.

Sorry, Betty, your rapist was sexually abused when he was a child so try to accept that when he raped and blinded you, he was also a victim so he will get a reduced sentence.

And then, 3 years later

Sorry, Doris, your rapist had PDA when he was a child and so he was also a victim when he raped and blinded you, so he will get a reduced sentence.

And then, 8 years later.

Sorry, Doris. Your rapist was brought up in poverty while his mother was at the pub and so he was also a victim when he raped and blinded you, so he will get a reduced sentence.

No-one's childhood should be taken into account for their adult crimes. It's not a discount card.

So no mitigating circumstances for you then ?

Do you also apply that to a woman who kills her husband after years of abuse ?

ThereAreOnlyShadesOfGrey · 07/10/2026 07:42

LadyBlueberry · 07/10/2026 07:33

Her second victim was older and bigger than her, you say.

Well, in that case, that absolutely exonerates her and if it doesn't, it really should at the very least be taken into account.

Dear oh dear!

Show quote history

I think the point the PP is making is that people are saying things like “a woman who killed a young girl” in the case of Slemmer, when actually at the time Christa was a year younger than Slemmer. It’s emotive language designed to increase the assumed power imbalance between the aggressor and the victim and it’s simply not true. It should be enough to say that an 18 year old murdered a 19 year old, they don’t need to throw such language as “girl” and “woman” in there for effect. In terms of what happened in 2001, it’s a different setting. They play by different rules. And while violence in prison settings shouldn’t be normalised it sadly already is, and when someone is going to be executed anyway or even sentenced to a full life term they have nothing to lose. And the woman she attacked in there was no innocent victim, violence often breeds violence, as it did in that case.

Fast800goingforit · 07/10/2026 07:42

Newname26 · 06/10/2026 23:39

When you think her boyfriend is out on parole because he was under 18 and she was over 18.
Then consider she was abused since she was a baby, raped age 2

I think she's suffered enough.
Nothing is going to bring her victim back.

The people who witnessed her failed execution must be suffering some sort of post traumatic stress too, especially since they were warned by her lawyers she could suffer unduly.

Its time for a rethink.

I agree.

SummerFeverVenice · 07/10/2026 07:43

LadyBlueberry · 07/10/2026 07:29

I do think all this hand wringing about her awful childhood and how it should have been taken into account at the time that she was sentenced is dangerous tosh.

I think that because if it becomes an accepted, official view then it won't be very long before it is abused.

Every rapist and murderer-and in most cases the victim is a woman or child-will be able to ask for his woes as a child to be taken into account and you can bet your bottom dollar that his defence team will become adept at finding these woes.

Over time, the definition of an awful childhood will be widened so that it there is a real possibility that a criminal who had his legs slapped by his parent will be judged to be a victim.

That's the way our current world turns.

A bad childhood, no matter how bad, should never be a reason for a reduced sentence and most women should be very wary of putting that forward as something to be attained.

In this particular case, a horrific murder was committed by a woman who then went on to try and commit another one in gaol. I see that a poster has already popped on to try and present that attempted murder as a good deed.

All this is rubbish.

No childhood should be taken into account when a crime has been committed because it makes no difference, it can not be a get out of gaol free card-and it will, it really will, be exploited.

Sorry, Betty, your rapist was sexually abused when he was a child so try to accept that when he raped and blinded you, he was also a victim so he will get a reduced sentence.

And then, 3 years later

Sorry, Doris, your rapist had PDA when he was a child and so he was also a victim when he raped and blinded you, so he will get a reduced sentence.

And then, 8 years later.

Sorry, Doris. Your rapist was brought up in poverty while his mother was at the pub and so he was also a victim when he raped and blinded you, so he will get a reduced sentence.

No-one's childhood should be taken into account for their adult crimes. It's not a discount card.

Crista Pike was still a child when she jointly murdered Colleen Slemmer with Shipp and Peterson. So anything about her mental state would have to come from her childhood. Besides, you are wrong, when the justice system started taking into account childhood abuse then it was better able to do what if is supposed to do- punish and rehabilitate where possible.

Crista Pike should have never have been sentenced to death. I am against the death penalty anyway, but it made no sense to sentence the also 17yr old boy who hit Colleen harder and stabbed/slashed her just as many times to life, but Crista to death because Crista served the final coup de grace.

(error in earlier post, I initially thought Shipp was older, they were the same age)

localnotail · 07/10/2026 07:45

Its horrendous, I cant even read it - its like something written by Kafka.

I'm totally against death penalty but WTF is wrong with the US if they cant even kill someone off effectively and quickly?

SummerFeverVenice · 07/10/2026 07:45

ThereAreOnlyShadesOfGrey · 07/10/2026 07:42

I think the point the PP is making is that people are saying things like “a woman who killed a young girl” in the case of Slemmer, when actually at the time Christa was a year younger than Slemmer. It’s emotive language designed to increase the assumed power imbalance between the aggressor and the victim and it’s simply not true. It should be enough to say that an 18 year old murdered a 19 year old, they don’t need to throw such language as “girl” and “woman” in there for effect. In terms of what happened in 2001, it’s a different setting. They play by different rules. And while violence in prison settings shouldn’t be normalised it sadly already is, and when someone is going to be executed anyway or even sentenced to a full life term they have nothing to lose. And the woman she attacked in there was no innocent victim, violence often breeds violence, as it did in that case.

Show quote history

Sorry, I am not awake and getting the ages mixed up…

Bitsostuff · 07/10/2026 07:46

ElatedOtter · 06/10/2026 22:47

You can’t keep injecting people with fatal substances until you get it right and they actually die, surely?

Show quote history

No but you can shoot them - Americans are great at that.

I'm against the death penalty- I think its utterly barbaric and legally problematic. But if you have it I see no reason that they couldn't execute this woman some other way.

I wonder whether the victims mother would like them to try again?

LadyBlueberry · 07/10/2026 07:50

BermudaRhombus · 07/10/2026 07:36

Your view seems to be very “one size fits all”. Life is a bit more complicated and nuanced than that. Do you think any mitigating circumstances should ever be taken into account?

Show quote history

Yes, I do think there are cases were mitigating circumstances should be taken into account but a bad childhood is not one of them, unless the accussed is in the dock for murdering the person who gave them that bad childhood.

I would also accept that mitigating circumstances should be taken into account if the murderer killed someone who was attacking them or someone else.

I would also accept mitigating circumstances should be taken into account if the death caused was accidental.

There would be other circumstances in which I would accept mitigating circumstances.

However, a bad childhood would not be one of them. Many thousands of people have bad childhoods and don't feel the need to kill or abuse others as a consequence.

It is a dangerous discount card to give to anyone and people-rapists and serial killers will use it.

Levi Bellfield had a bad child hood-should he be considered a victim and have that taken into account? I say no and I Imagine you do too but if we continue down the line of pleading for rapists and killers who had a bad child hood, people like him will present themselves as a victim.

So, that's a bad thing and another bad thing will be that every Tom, Dick and Harry will jump on the bandwaggon and discover that they too had a bad child hood,

Bad childhood does not mean you can rape and kill and then expect that to be taken into account and I am very surprised that any woman would think it should.

But it takes all sorts I suppose and, sadly, the bleeding heart these days seems to have the loudest voice.

SummerFeverVenice · 07/10/2026 07:50

Bitsostuff · 07/10/2026 07:46

No but you can shoot them - Americans are great at that.

I'm against the death penalty- I think its utterly barbaric and legally problematic. But if you have it I see no reason that they couldn't execute this woman some other way.

I wonder whether the victims mother would like them to try again?

Show quote history

I did read a news story that was sympathetic to the victim’s mother who had driven long distance to see the execution. I found her attitude chilling. She fervently believes that justice for her daughter means killing Christa.

BeardofHagrid · 07/10/2026 07:51

It’s not a botched execution….yet. Get her in front of that firing squad 😆

Fr tho, this is a nightmare for the victim’s family, they are in my thoughts and prayers.

Bitsostuff · 07/10/2026 07:52

ThereAreOnlyShadesOfGrey · 07/10/2026 07:37

Karma's a bitch,and I have no sympathy for her. Lots of people have horrific pasts but don't end up caving an innocent person's head in.

That line works well when it’s being used to justify horrendous things happening to people when they’ve done something wrong in life.

So tell me, if Karma is retribution for the wrongs people have committed, what did Christa Pike do as a baby to deserve the childhood she had.

Indeed, what did Coleen Slemmer do to justify the murder she suffered?

As for saying that Coleen’s family should decide, would you be saying that if they’d said that this is clearly a sign from God and that they believe Pike should now be released? Nope, didn’t think so.

If you actually believe in karma, then the suffering or disabilities children endure is payment for the sins of a past life. Its part of a belief in reincarnation- you don't get born with a clean slate. In the Christian tradition by contrast, children are considered innocent, any disability was traditionally considered to be the mother's fault and children suffering was either as the result of evil doers (if caused by a person), or God's will.

RedTagAlan · 07/10/2026 07:56

ThereAreOnlyShadesOfGrey · 07/10/2026 07:42

I think the point the PP is making is that people are saying things like “a woman who killed a young girl” in the case of Slemmer, when actually at the time Christa was a year younger than Slemmer. It’s emotive language designed to increase the assumed power imbalance between the aggressor and the victim and it’s simply not true. It should be enough to say that an 18 year old murdered a 19 year old, they don’t need to throw such language as “girl” and “woman” in there for effect. In terms of what happened in 2001, it’s a different setting. They play by different rules. And while violence in prison settings shouldn’t be normalised it sadly already is, and when someone is going to be executed anyway or even sentenced to a full life term they have nothing to lose. And the woman she attacked in there was no innocent victim, violence often breeds violence, as it did in that case.

Show quote history

In the 2001 case, the woman she was found guilty of attempting to murder, Patricia Jones, was serving a life sentence after pleading guilty to first-degree premeditated murder.

RedTagAlan · 07/10/2026 08:00

Bitsostuff · 07/10/2026 07:52

If you actually believe in karma, then the suffering or disabilities children endure is payment for the sins of a past life. Its part of a belief in reincarnation- you don't get born with a clean slate. In the Christian tradition by contrast, children are considered innocent, any disability was traditionally considered to be the mother's fault and children suffering was either as the result of evil doers (if caused by a person), or God's will.

Show quote history

You missed out the original sin bit of Christianity. All are born of sin. And all that stuff about historically they go to hell unless baptised. Or purgatory anyway, anyway until they "cleanse" their sin they were born from/with.

Bourneyesterday · 07/10/2026 08:00

She has been tortured and hurt since the moment she was born up until now. She was born with alcohol fetal syndrome and had regular seizures that she received no treatment for. She was raped, abused and neglected from when she was a baby. Then she hurts someone else and is on solitary confinement on death row for 31 years and tortured. She should be helped as much as possible and released.

Frequency · 07/10/2026 08:01

SummerFeverVenice · 07/10/2026 07:50

I did read a news story that was sympathetic to the victim’s mother who had driven long distance to see the execution. I found her attitude chilling. She fervently believes that justice for her daughter means killing Christa.

Show quote history

I can't say I blame Colleen's mother for her attitude. The murder of her daughter was horrific, and the treatment she's received from the state of Tennessee is abysmal.

They kept a part of her child's skull for years, lost it, and then, once they found it, mailed it back to her with no notice. The poor woman opened the package, alone, not expecting to find a part of her daughter.

It's enough to make even the most empathetic of people cold and jaded.

HoppityBun · 07/10/2026 08:02

RedTagAlan · 07/10/2026 08:00

You missed out the original sin bit of Christianity. All are born of sin. And all that stuff about historically they go to hell unless baptised. Or purgatory anyway, anyway until they "cleanse" their sin they were born from/with.

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Which makes the Easter palaver a waste of time

ThereAreOnlyShadesOfGrey · 07/10/2026 08:08

SummerFeverVenice · 07/10/2026 07:50

I did read a news story that was sympathetic to the victim’s mother who had driven long distance to see the execution. I found her attitude chilling. She fervently believes that justice for her daughter means killing Christa.

Show quote history

I have every sympathy for what happened to the family at the time, I feel less sympathy for her now given some of the things she’s said. Remember, you can be a victim and not necessarily a nice person at the same time, and I think talk of how the state owes her an apology etc is just messed up. Also, we don’t know much about Coleen Slemmer’s childhood. She and Christa met at a training programme for “troubled teens” which is usually synonymous for delinquents. We know what kind of childhood brought Christa Pike there, but what happened to lead to Coleen Pike being there? And what part might her family have played in that fact?