Last night, we entered uncharted territory when Christa Pike survived Tennessee’s effort to execute her with lethal doses of pentobarbital. It was the first time someone received a drug intended to kill them but did not die.
There would always have been a first time somewhere and sometime, but that doesn’t invalidate the sentence.
Robin Maher, the executive director of the Death Penalty Information Center, told the New York Times: “This event is the worst we’ve seen and unlike any other botched execution in the modern era … There is no precedent.” Moreover, there is almost no precedent for what should happen next. Whatever fate awaits Christa Pike, one thing is clear. The state of Tennessee should not be allowed to try to execute her again.
Why not?
Beyond that, it is time to give up on the fantasy that this country will ever be able to find an execution technology that is safe, reliable and humane. We have not found one yet, and we never will.
We've found plenty, what we’ve lost is the will to carry it out, because we think if we make it bloodless the bleeding hearts will stop campaigning..
What happened to Pike was gruesome. No one deserves what she went through, not even those who commit horrible crimes.
Really. Let’s remind ourselves what she did to get it, shall we?
“Pike lured Slemmer to a wooded area near the University of Tennessee’s Agricultural Campus with the promise of marijuana. With the help of … [her boyfriend], Pike tortured Slemmer before beating her to death with a chunk of asphalt. A pentagram was also carved into her body.”
Leaving out, as many left-leaning media did, that she took a piece of the murdered girl’s skull as a trophy.
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