Tennessee Death Row Inmate Christa Pike Requests All-Female Execution Team
Pike, convicted of torturing and murdering Colleen Slemmer, is scheduled for execution and has made an unusual request regarding her executioners.
Christa Pike, currently on death row in Tennessee, is scheduled to be executed on September 30 and has requested an all-female execution team. Pike is set to become the first woman executed in Tennessee in over 200 years. She claims that being handled by men during her execution would trigger past experiences of childhood sexual abuse.
In 1996, Pike, then 18, was sentenced to death, making her the youngest woman to receive such a sentence in the United States at the time. The conviction stemmed from the January 1995 murder of 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer. Prosecutors stated that Pike became convinced Slemmer was attempting to steal her boyfriend, which led to the fatal attack that lasted over an hour.
During the brutal murder, Pike caved in Slemmer's skull with a piece of asphalt and took a piece of her skull as a trophy. Police records indicate she showed this trophy to classmates. Pike was assisted in the murder by her boyfriend, Tadaryl Shipp, and their classmate, Shadolla Peterson.
Slemmer's family remembered her as a kind, gentle, and proud individual with a love for computers who enjoyed assisting others. Her mother, May Martinez, plans to attend Pike's execution, holding a picture of her daughter. The Slemmer family has stated that no claims made by Pike will justify the horrific nature of her crime.
Pike's defense team has cited historic child abuse allegations and undiagnosed bipolar disorder as reasons for clemency, advocating for a sentence of life without parole.
Behind bars, Pike has developed a reputation as an artist, with her attorneys noting her work as a keen artist.
