Christa Pike, 50, is set to be executed later this week after Tennessee Governor Bill Lee denied her request for clemency. Pike was convicted of first-degree murder 30 years ago in the killing of 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer, a classmate at Knoxville Job Corps in 1995, when Pike was 18 years old. The case drew significant public attention due to the brutal nature of the offense, the ages of those involved, and a satanic symbol carved into the victim’s body. If the execution proceeds, Pike will become the first woman executed in Tennessee in 200 years.
Lee stated in his decision: “After deliberate consideration of Christa Gail Pike’s request for clemency and after a thorough review of the case, I am upholding the sentence of the State of Tennessee and do not plan to intervene.” Civil rights organizations including the ACLU and Amnesty International had called on the public to petition the governor’s office to spare Pike from execution. Pike’s legal team responded by expressing they were “deeply saddened and heartbroken” by the decision, arguing that the state is disregarding decades of research regarding appropriate culpability for 18-year-olds, particularly those with severe trauma.
Pike’s defense team has highlighted her history of childhood sexual abuse, beginning in early childhood, and subsequent trauma, as well as diagnoses of bipolar disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder made after her conviction. Federal public defender Stephen Ferrell noted that Pike was the youngest woman placed on death row in modern US history and pointed out that Pike’s boyfriend at the time, Tadaryl Shipp, received a life sentence with the possibility of parole due to his age of 17. Pike herself has acknowledged her culpability, stating in her clemency petition that she was “a mentally ill 18-year-old kid” who took years to understand the gravity of her actions.
Colleen Slemmer’s mother, May Martinez, told the Associated Press that her daughter was known for being easygoing, volunteering with the Special Olympics, and had aspirations to work in computer technology. Pike’s attorneys have filed an additional request with the state supreme court to stay the execution. The last woman executed in Tennessee was in 1820 according to the Death Penalty Information Center.
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