Christa’s mother drank heavily and used drugs while she was pregnant with Christa resulting in brain damage which caused Christa’s bipolar disorder.

When Christa was 14 months old, she suffered a seizure. Her mother refused to leave the bar to take her to the hospital.

After Christa was born, her mother left Christa and her brother without food, crawling in dog feces, while she drank with her boyfriends.

Her mother allowed her boyfriends to beat Christa and twist her nipples. One beat Christa with a belt and sexually assaulted her.

When Christa tried to commit suicide after that, a psychiatrist told her mother Christa was severely depressed and needed help. Her mother denied Christa further help and her bipolar disorder was not treated.

When Christa was raped at 11 by a man in the neighborhood, her mother denied it until she developed an infection and the man was arrested.

When Christa was raped at 17, one year to the day before she committed murder with her boyfriend, Christa’s mother didn’t care.

But Christa was happy to see her mother in court during her trial and all she wanted was a hug.

Yes, Christa committed an extremely heinous murder at 18. But I just wanted to share a little bit of her story with you — especially for all the folks rejoicing at her execution.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/sep/28/tennessee-woman-execution-christa-pike

  • bertlewirth@lemmy.world
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    2 days ago

    Nope

    According to recent estimates, the death penalty costs taxpayers 2.5 to 5 times more than life imprisonment.

    • Corkyskog@sh.itjust.works
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      I did a research report on this in grade school. The costs are mostly tied to the amount of appeals they are mandated to get and the average length of stay before execution.

      I came to the conclusion in my research paper that Republicans would likely eventually pass laws to limit the appeals and fast track execution.

      I think I got a C on the paper because of the editorialization about what I thought would happen in the future. I am actually surprised it hasn’t happened yet.

      • captainlezbian@lemmy.world
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        1 day ago

        And despite all those appeals there’s about 1-8% rate of wrongful executions. Fucking 1/20 people executed may very well be innocent

        • bertlewirth@lemmy.world
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          There’s a man on death row in Texas named Robert Roberson. He’s come VERY close a few times to being executed (at one point, a few hours) and he’s most likely innocent. He was convicted based on shaken baby syndrome. It’s been disproved a long while ago. Thankfully though he’s getting a new trial and hopefully he’ll be found not guilty. Still sucks that he’s been on death row for decades

        • Corkyskog@sh.itjust.works
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          1 day ago

          Yeah, it’s abysmal. The fact that even one innocent person was executed should have shut the whole thing down. But it was never about justice, just expressing power.

      • criscodisco@lemmy.world
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        2 days ago

        Because there just aren’t that many Americans that care about this issue, unfortunately. I’ve had discussions with straight up dreadlocked hippy liberals and they still use the “you’d feel differently if they killed someone in your family” bullshit. No. I wouldn’t because I have a principled stance that the state should not be murdering its citizens. No amount of violent, depraved criminals getting “what they deserved” justifies the death of one falsely accused person, and we are well past one in this fucked up system.

        We are a cruel, spiteful, and violent people. Even our granola munching hippies can’t get behind abolishing the death penalty.

    • GreenKnight23@lemmy.world
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      source from your source is limited in scope.

      FROM AN ANALYSIS OF THE ECONOMIC COSTS OF CAPITAL PUNISHMENT IN OKLAHOMA, PREPARED FOR THE OKLAHOMA DEATH PENALTY REVIEW COMMISSION, 2017

      your source is also clearly biased.

      The Death Penalty Information Center (DPI) is a national non-profit organization providing the media, policymakers, and the general public with data and analysis on issues concerning capital punishment and the people it affects. For more than 30 years, DPI has been the preeminent national resource for timely and trustworthy information about the death penalty. DPI does not take a position on the death penalty itself but is critical of problems in its application.

      Founded in 1990, DPI promotes insightful discourse on the death penalty by curating and presenting expansive, authoritative data from credible sources and offering clear, reliable, and timely information and research about the history and current application of the death penalty. DPI’s careful tracking and analysis of death sentences, executions, legislation, and newsworthy events provides critical context to inform meaningful public debate and sound policy decisions.

      meaning the information they provide is forthright and true but their delivery of which is curated and formulated to strengthen their position.

      it’s clear what their position is once you read a handful of their articles, and they are free to hold that position. however, it’s not okay to use them as a definitive source of truth when arguing a point because they obviously have an agenda.