Tennessee is scheduled to execute Christa Pike, a 50-year-old woman, by lethal injection on Wednesday, at the Riverbend Maximum Security Institution in Nashville. Pike was convicted of murdering her 19-year-old classmate, Colleen Slemmer, in 1995, when Pike was 18 years old. The crime was committed with her 17-year-old boyfriend, Tadaryl Shipp, and a third companion. Pike and Shipp confessed to the killing and were convicted of first-degree murder the following year.
The murder was particularly gruesome, with the perpetrators carving a pentagram into Slemmer's chest and taking a chunk of her skull as a souvenir. Pike's lawyers have argued that she was the victim of childhood trauma and sexual abuse, including two rapes at ages 11 and 17. They also cited her diagnoses of bipolar disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder. Pike's clemency petition, highlighting these factors, was denied by Governor Bill Lee.
Pike's case has drawn international attention, with a group of United Nations human rights experts issuing a statement calling for commutation of her death sentence. Sexual violence and trauma experts have also spoken out on her behalf, arguing that the lethal injection procedure could cause Pike to experience severe, traumatic flashbacks of child sexual abuse and rape.
The US Supreme Court on Tuesday rejected an 11th-hour bid for a stay of execution. Pike is currently the only woman on Tennessee's death row. She was also convicted in 2001 of attempted first-degree murder in an assault on another inmate. Her lawyers documented her history of violence, neglect, and sexual abuse as a child, including her mother's heavy drinking during pregnancy, which contributed to faulty brain development.
Executions of female prison inmates are exceedingly rare in the US, with women accounting for just 18 of the 1,683 people put to death since the Supreme Court allowed capital punishment to resume in 1976. Tennessee has executed 17 people prior to Wednesday. Pike's co-defendant, Shadolla Peterson, who acted as a lookout, received probation and testified for the prosecution.
Slemmer's mother, May Martinez, has spoken out in support of the execution. Pike's lawyers argued that the 18-year-old girl who committed the murder "no longer exists," and that Pike is now a 50-year-old remorseful woman who understands her actions and receives treatment for her mental illness.
Key points
- Christa Pike is set to become the first woman executed in Tennessee in over 200 years.
- Pike's case has drawn international attention due to concerns over her mental health and traumatic past.
- Executions of female inmates are rare in the US, with only 18 women put to death since 1976.
