Christa Pike, 50, who is scheduled for execution on September 30, has made a unique request to Tennessee officials: an all-female lethal injection team to carry out her death sentence. Pike is the first woman to be sentenced to death in Tennessee in 200 years. If her request for an all-female team cannot be met, she has stated she would prefer to be hanged.
Pike's legal team has filed a clemency petition with Tennessee Governor Bill Lee, arguing that her traumatic childhood, including extensive sexual and physical abuse, neglect, and domestic violence, was not adequately considered by the justice system. The petition details alleged sexual abuse from ages 2 to 5, a rape at age 11, and another assault at age 17. Her attorneys contend that these experiences contributed to her later diagnoses of bipolar disorder and PTSD, and that this context was not fully presented to the jury.
Pike was convicted of the 1995 murder of 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer. According to court documents, Pike, then 18, lured Slemmer to an isolated area on the University of Tennessee campus in Knoxville and, with her boyfriend Tadaryl Shipp and an acquaintance, tortured and killed her. Pike was sentenced to death in 1996, making her one of the youngest women in the U.S. to receive such a sentence.
May Martinez, Slemmer's mother, expressed disbelief at Pike's request, calling it a manipulation of the system. "I don’t think she should be allowed to have any special treatment," Martinez told the Daily Mail. "She didn’t consider how my daughter felt — she’s just playing the system … It’s all bullcrap."
Pike's attorneys argue that while her trauma does not excuse the crime, it should have been considered to potentially spare her life. They described her as "broken, not evil," emphasizing the failures of the systems meant to support her. However, trial documents describe a brutal murder where Pike allegedly told a friend she intended to kill Slemmer simply because "she felt mean that day." The victim was beaten, her throat slashed, and satanic symbols were carved into her body. By 10:15 p.m. on the night of the murder, Slemmer was dead, and Pike was heard saying voices told her to continue the assault.