Tennessee Death Row Inmate Christa Pike Refuses Last Meal After Losing Final Execution Appeals

Christa Gail Pike, 50, is scheduled to be executed by lethal injection Wednesday morning for the 1995 murder of 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer. Pike has refused a last meal after her final appeals were denied by Tennessee Governor Bill Lee and the U.S. Supreme Court.

Governor Lee stated he denied Pike's clemency request after careful consideration and a thorough review of the case. The Supreme Court declined to issue a stay of execution less than a day before the scheduled time, offering no explanation for its decision.

Pike's lawyers expressed deep sadness and disappointment with the governor's decision. They argued that executing Pike, who was 18 at the time of the murder, would place Tennessee in a unique position, as she would be the first person executed in the state's modern death penalty era who was a juvenile offender, and the first woman executed in over two centuries.

Prosecutors maintain that Pike, fearing Slemmer was a romantic rival, lured her to a secluded area where she and her boyfriend, Tadaryl Shipp, tortured and killed their classmate. The brutality of the crime, the perpetrators' young ages, and the carving of a satanic symbol into the victim's body garnered significant attention.

Pike does not dispute her guilt. However, her attorneys and supporters contend that a death sentence is inappropriate for a crime committed at age 18 by an individual with untreated mental illness, who had a history of severe sexual abuse and neglect. They also challenged the state's lethal injection protocol, arguing it would cause unnecessary suffering and violate the Eighth Amendment. Their request that Pike be hanged was also rejected by the Supreme Court.

Attorneys for Pike highlighted her difficult childhood, marked by documented sexual abuse, neglect, and violence. They stated that the 18-year-old suffering from severe mental illness and trauma no longer exists, asserting that the 50-year-old Pike is remorseful, receives proper mental health treatment, and guides other incarcerated women. They argued that executing Pike ignores scientific understanding of adolescent brain development, noting that her boyfriend, Tadaryl Shipp, who was 17 at the time, received a life sentence with the possibility of parole.

Pike herself expressed in a statement included in her clemency petition that she was a mentally ill 18-year-old who took years to comprehend the gravity of her actions and their impact on others. She stated, "I took the life of someone's child, sister, friend. It sickens me now to think I had the ability to commit such a crime."

Colleen Slemmer's mother, May Martinez, emphasized that her daughter was also a teenager at the time of her murder and never had the chance to grow up. Martinez recalled her daughter's interests in computers and volunteer work, describing her as trusting, which she believes was a factor in her death. Martinez stated that she thinks of her daughter daily and that holidays are particularly difficult.

Pike is currently scheduled to be executed at 10 a.m. Wednesday at the Riverbend Maximum Security Institution.