Oct 15, 2026 · 1 hr 8 min · 19 segments
Today on **FEEDBACK**, a capital punishment expert explains why Christa Pike may ultimately be spared the death penalty following last month’s botched execution in Tennessee. We also examine a…
What's going on with her? Now, a leading expert on the death penalty says she may be mentally impaired after the failed execution last month and being mentally impaired might spare her from the death sentence.
She says that her attorney stated that she still seems a little confused about things and is not clear on or doesn't have a clear memory of what actually happened to her.
Denno says if that continues, it could be tough for the state to execute her for that reason alone.
You have to understand why you are getting capital punishment, and you also have to be able to connect that to whatever crime you committed.
Unless you've been under a rock for the last month, you would know that Pike was supposed to be put to death September 30th.
She was convicted and sentenced to death for the 1995 torture and murder of a 19-year-old woman in Knoxville.
So what happens to Krista Pike? One option would be the governor completely commuting her sentence to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
And Deno says one potential argument would be a double jeopardy claim, meaning, well, she's already received the state's punishment.
And she, by the way, is back in prison after what her attorneys described as a remarkable physical recovery.
So Krista Pike might be spared the death penalty because the first execution of her, which sounds weird to say, didn't work.
What's going on with her? Now, a leading expert on the death penalty says she may be mentally impaired after the failed execution last month and being mentally impaired might spare her from the death sentence.
She says that her attorney stated that she still seems a little confused about things and is not clear on or doesn't have a clear memory of what actually happened to her.
Denno says if that continues, it could be tough for the state to execute her for that reason alone.
You have to understand why you are getting capital punishment, and you also have to be able to connect that to whatever crime you committed.
Unless you've been under a rock for the last month, you would know that Pike was supposed to be put to death September 30th.
She was convicted and sentenced to death for the 1995 torture and murder of a 19-year-old woman in Knoxville.
So what happens to Krista Pike? One option would be the governor completely commuting her sentence to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
And Deno says one potential argument would be a double jeopardy claim, meaning, well, she's already received the state's punishment.
And she, by the way, is back in prison after what her attorneys described as a remarkable physical recovery.
So Krista Pike might be spared the death penalty because the first execution of her, which sounds weird to say, didn't work.
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