"Christa is a source of light in a dark place. For those of us who have found ourselves housed near Christa, she has offered hope when there should have only been despair."

Said one of Christa Pike's fellow inmates, who added that Pike "is a far cry from the one who walked through the doors [in] the beginning."

Quoted in "Tennessee to execute a woman for first time in over 200 years/Christa Pike was convicted in a brutal 1995 killing committed when she was 18. Advocates pushing for her life to be spared point to abuse she suffered as a child" (WaPo).

The death penalty requires that a jury find "aggravating factors." There were two: She tried to cover up the murder and it was "especially heinous, atrocious or cruel in that it involved torture or serious physical abuse beyond that necessary to produce death."

I couldn't get Grok to tell me the details of the murder. It said "I won’t describe the attack itself or the injuries in detail. That would mean laying out the methods of a murder, which I don’t do." 

I assured it that my purpose had to do with the legal standard, but it held firm.

Scanning the article again, I found the paragraph with the factual information: "According to court documents and trial testimony, Slemmer was forced to strip off her clothes then beaten, tortured and repeatedly slashed with a knife. Pike admitted to hitting the girl in the head with asphalt, cutting her throat and taking a piece of her skull as a souvenir, records show."

Right under that is a photograph from the trial: a forensic anthropologist holding the victim's shattered skull.

Here's the summary of the comments over there: "The comments reflect a heated debate over the death penalty, particularly in the case of Christa Pike. Many commenters argue against the death penalty, citing its ineffectiveness as a deterrent and the moral contradiction of state-sanctioned killing. Others emphasize the brutality of Pike's crime and the suffering of the victim's family, suggesting that execution may provide closure. Some comments highlight the influence of Pike's abusive past on her actions, while others dismiss it as irrelevant to her sentencing. Overall, the discussion reveals a deep divide on issues of justice, punishment, and the impact of personal history on criminal behavior."

ADDED: The London Times has this: "Christa Pike: ‘I have a kinship with Lindsay Clancy’/The first woman set to be executed in Tennessee in 200 years, sympathises with the mother ‘who got into trouble because of uniquely female issues.’"

"I feel a kinship with Lindsay. We are both females who got into trouble because of uniquely female issues. One thing is different, however, is that times have changed a lot on awareness of women’s issues since I was put on trial. I am pleased she received a mistrial and is getting the help she needs. There are so many women who don’t get the help they need: me and others."

Speaking of women's issues, the London Times gives us this:

Did you watch Ross Douthat interview Patrick Clancy on "60 Minutes"?

I did. It was terrible. What is the point of bringing on Ross Douthat to invite the father to speak of cuddling a baby as it died and seeing a dead toddler in his dreams and receiving assistance from his new wife in bearing the burden of grief? I thought Douthat was an intellectual, devoted to analyzing morality.

Patrick Clancy talks about the final days with his 8-month-old son, Callan.

“I really thought there was a chance that Callan would live,” he tells 60 Minutes. “And remember just thinking, ‘Just gimme one. Just gimme one kid,’ and I would raise him as best I could, and I would… pic.twitter.com/5HMfnujj1d

— 60 Minutes (@60Minutes) September 20, 2026

ALSO: Even though I pay for YouTubeTV, I had to watch many commercials, including the thumping, ominous trailer for the movie "Primetime," which is about rescuing children from sexual predators. I had to watch that awful mess before the interview, in the middle of the interview, and at the end of the interview. Who wanted that ad placement and why did CBS allow it? And what does Ross Douthat, traditional moralist, think of it?

"I didn’t have any doubts. As I tried to explain different possible theories during deliberation, I kept getting cut off as if I had doubts based on the evidence present."

"Based on all the physical evidence, key witnesses, and what the prosecution presents, I thought it was enough proof that she [Clancy] knew exactly what she was doing and planned."

Said Michael P. Desronvil, quoted in "Holdout juror in Lindsay Clancy mistrial, Michael P. Desronvil, speaks out for first time after intense backlash" (NY Post).

Desronvil reportedly believes he’s been “targeted” by the media over the mistrial because he’s a staunch Republican on a jury panel he claimed was mostly leftist “activists,” according to YouTuber Ray Marcel, who posted a video to his channel “Fugitive TV” on Tuesday....

"I assaulted a police officer? Is that what it says? I don’t have my glasses. Oh my God. What a mess. I don’t remember any of it."

Said Layne Lundeen, quoted in "I don’t remember a thing, claims ‘air rage’ passenger duct-taped to seat/The 67-year-old, who was vice-president of a real estate firm, was flying first class before allegedly coming out with racial slurs and vulgar language" (London Times).

According to another passenger, Lundeen became "belligerent, making derogatory remarks to the staff of American Airlines and other passengers, racial slurs, vulgar language, very offensive to the women," and a former law enforcement officer said his friend "immediately knew that action had to be taken" and "got up right away and jumped in the seat right next to the passenger and began working on restraining him in order to keep the situation contained."

I don't want to go all Clancy-juror on you, but I feel sorry for this guy.

IN THE COMMENTS: Saint Croix said: "I hate to say it, but People magazine seems to have the scoop on this."

The Clancy holdout was the only nonwhite person on the jury, and he was a black man.

NEW: Lindsay Clancy juror Paula Devlin reveals on 'CBS Mornings' that the lone, male holdout juror who voted to find Clancy guilty of murdering her children was the *only* person of color -- a black man.

The 11 not-guilty jurors -- who hectored him for a week to cave -- were all… pic.twitter.com/5qirHNGCyx

— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) September 11, 2026

Imagine how this man felt, how he feels now. The white people all ganged up on him, accused him of being inarticulate and incoherent, impermeable to reason. What a pressure cooker!

***

"Whoa. I have to sit with that for just a second" — Gayle King. Amazing that she was surprised by that. Weren't there pre-interviews to smoke things like that out? Or did they know, mean to suppress it, then realize they needed to get it out and chose Gayle King to perform the necessary theater? If so, she's an excellent actress! She really seems blindsided.

ADDED: Meanwhile, on Oprah's show, a black woman expresses the concern that black women who kill their children will not receive the same compassion that was shown to Lindsay Clancy:

"A male juror in the mistrial of Lindsay Clancy said the lone holdout... wrapped one of the exercise bands the mom used to kill her children around a water bottle..."

"... to mimic their strangulation in the deliberation room. Juror number 10 Nick Dargie said the holdout had every right to his opinion but that the reenactment using the same exercise bands left the room speechless. 'I was so shocked. We’re not here to play detective – it’s not a game of Clue. This is serious,' Dargie, 25, the fifth juror to come forward in the macabre case out of Duxbury, Mass., told ABC’s 'GMA'.... 'I asked him why are you doing that? That’s a band that was used to strangle a child. That’s disgusting.'"

The NY Post reports.

"He had the hardest time getting off the fact that Lindsay viciously killed her children."

There will never be a more obvious sentence to look back on and explain the insanity of our times than the following…

“He had the hardest time getting off the fact that Lindsay viciously killed her children." pic.twitter.com/i7dnLg2MlE

— Tandy (@dantypo) September 8, 2026

Said one of the Lindsay Clancy jurors, Kellie Farina, about the holdout juror.

She's quoted in "Three Jurors in Clancy Trial Describe Frustration With Holdout/The three jurors, who voted to acquit Lindsay Clancy of murder, described the tense deliberations in an interview with a Boston TV station" (NYT gift link).

CORRECTION: I'd connected the quote to one of the other jurors who spoke to the press.

ALSO: Another juror "said that the holdout 'completely disregarded' information that nurses on the jury provided to help interpret medical reports from the hospital where Ms. Clancy stayed after she killed her children." Wasn't the juror at least entitled to reject extraneous "information" from an unsworn witness?

"An Illinois mother allegedly hanged her 2-year-old son that she described as the 'anti-Christ' — hours after discussing the Lindsay Clancy case with friends...."

"Corie Walsh, 38, is facing first-degree murder charges after one of her neighbors found Walsh’s son, Barrett, hanging from the rafters in the family’s basement.... Walsh allegedly told investigators she killed her young son because he’s the 'anti-Christ' and 'devil,' according to prosecutors. Little Barrett was found with his feet off the ground, and a ligature around his neck.... Walsh was reportedly found lying in a bathtub, fully clothed and drenched in bloody water."

The New York Post reports.

Is this the new "Me Too" movement?

"The defense argued that Judge William Sullivan should investigate a lone holdout on the jury before declaring a mistrial..."

"... which would allow the prosecution to continue to pursue a murder conviction. A justice is expected to rule quickly."

The NYT reports on the impending declaration of a mistrial.

The day of intense courtroom drama was prompted by a message to the judge on Thursday from the jury’s foreperson. It said a lone holdout juror had acknowledged doubt about the case, but refused to follow the law. The note came on the sixth day of deliberations. Ms. Clancy’s lead lawyer, Kevin Reddington, said the foreperson indicated that the jury was split 11 to 1, with the majority ready to find his client not guilty.

UPDATE: Mistrial declared.  

"Jurors have said they are unable to reach a unanimous verdict in the trial of Lindsay Clancy..."

"... a mother who was accused of murdering her three children while suffering from undiagnosed postpartum psychosis. After about 18 hours of deliberations, the 12 jurors — nine women and three men — informed the judge on Tuesday morning that they are deadlocked. Judge William Sullivan ordered the panel to continue deliberating...."

From "Lindsay Clancy jury unable to reach unanimous verdict/Jurors were ordered to continue deliberating on Tuesday morning after informing the judge they could not reach a consensus on murder charges" (London Times).

"Clancy’s defence attorney, Kevin Reddington, told jurors she sought care 19 times between September 2022 and January 2023 for her depression, anxiety and insomnia. In that time, he said she was prescribed 12 drugs — antidepressants, sleep aids and an antipsychotic — by five healthcare providers. 'My God, what does she have to do? She was reaching out for help, and she was not getting it,' Reddington said....Clancy cried at the defence table throughout the state’s closing argument. Her attorney, Reddington, told the jury: 'This young lady did nothing wrong in her life. She was a nurse. A daughter. A wife. And a darn good mother.'"

"[A] vocal group of male commenters have used the [Lindsay Clancy] case to create a sounding board for their resentment of women...."

"Hugh Anthony, who has 66,000 followers, has taken aim at 'modern-day feminists' who are 'satanic freaks … masking [alleged murder] behind psychosis.' Another man brags about dumping a woman because she empathised too much with Clancy’s postpartum psychosis. 'I can’t ignore or gamble my future children,' it reads, to the tune of 2,800 likes. Yet another, from Collin Rugg, a bloviating X provocateur with 2.8 million followers, claims that men are taking their wives’ support of Clancy to divorce court. He shared a video of an attorney who said he would help male clients strip ex-wives of their visitation rights based on their views about the case.... [Men] are whipped into a froth by manosphere types leveraging a tragedy against all women. [Women] are crassly using that tragedy to show the systemic brokenness of marriage and motherhood, bending the facts around their feelings.... Both sides of this tawdry tit-for-tat are incapable of making this catastrophe about anything other than themselves."

Writes Poppy Sowerby, in "Men and women are falling out over Lindsay Clancy. It’s sick/Content creators have hijacked a tragic murder trial and turned it into an ugly proxy war over gender politics" (London Times).

"In the middle of one night eight years ago, when my daughter was an infant, I was nursing her on our living-room sofa when a hulking blur loomed in the corner of my eye."

"I turned toward the nursery, adjacent to the living room, and saw, for a single billowing moment, a giant floating baby—a kind of Mylar-balloon version of my own baby—hovering in the doorframe. I knew it wasn’t real, yet there it was. Two years later... holding my infant son, I felt a hard yet yielding pressure just below my shoulder blades.... A few nights later in that room, I sensed a hand on my shoulder that wasn’t there. A ghost, or something like a ghost, was in the room with us. I felt this to be true, and I knew it was not true.... When both of my children were infants, the same image flashed inside my eyes several times a day: that by some spasm or seizure or uncontrollable urge I would throw the baby against a wall. The image was blurry, monochrome, sped-up, a squiggly pencil animation that instantly erased itself. Outside of the flash, I felt no fear that I would actually hurt my child. But I was frightened and ashamed.... The vast majority of new mothers have unwanted thoughts about their infant being harmed...."

 
Writes Jessica Winter in "What We Still Don’t Understand About Postpartum Psychosis/The recent tragedy surrounding Lindsay Clancy and her children underscores popular misconceptions about a grave and mysterious disorder" (The New Yorker).