Tennessee prepares to carry out execution of woman sentenced for 1995 murder

Christa Pike, now 50, is set to be executed by lethal injection on Wednesday for the 1995 murder of 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer, a classmate at a Knoxville Job Corps program. Pike was 18 at the time of the killing, which prosecutors said was motivated by jealousy and involved severe brutality, including a satanic symbol carved into the victim's body.

Pike has not contested her guilt, but her defense team argues that her sentence is disproportionate given her age at the time of the crime, a history of untreated mental illness, and a childhood marked by severe sexual abuse and neglect. She was later diagnosed with bipolar disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder. In a statement included in a clemency petition, Pike expressed remorse, saying she was a mentally ill teenager who took years to understand the gravity of her actions.

Assistant Federal Defender Stephen Ferrell highlighted that Pike’s abusive background and mental health issues were not fully presented to the jury during the penalty phase. He noted that Pike’s boyfriend, Tadaryl Shipp, who was 17 at the time, received a life sentence with the possibility of parole, while a third teen involved was sentenced to probation. Ferrell added that recent research on adolescent brain development makes Pike’s death sentence an outlier.

"If Christa Pike was tried today, I do not believe a jury that knew about the documented sexual abuse and neglect she experienced as a child would sentence her to death," said Robin M. Maher, executive director of the Death Penalty Information Center.

Tennessee Governor Bill Lee announced that he will not grant clemency, and Pike’s attorneys have asked the U.S. Supreme Court to stay the execution. The victim’s mother, May Martinez, said she wants the execution to proceed, recalling her daughter’s interests and the impact of the loss on her family.

If carried out, the execution would be Tennessee’s first of a female inmate since 1820. Nationwide, executions of women remain rare; since 1976, only 18 women have been put to death, representing about one percent of all executions in the United States.