Tennessee Executes Christa Pike, First Woman in Nearly 200 Years

Christa Gail Pike, 50, was executed by lethal injection Wednesday morning in Tennessee for the 1995 murder of 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer. Pike is the first woman executed in the state in nearly two centuries and the first person in the modern death penalty era to be executed for a crime committed as a teenager.

Pike refused a last meal after Tennessee Governor Bill Lee denied her clemency request and the U.S. Supreme Court declined to stay her execution. The Supreme Court made its decision without explanation less than a day before the execution was scheduled.

Governor Lee stated that he denied clemency after a thorough review of Pike's case. Pike's attorneys expressed deep sadness and heartbreak, arguing that her execution places Tennessee in a singular position and that an 18-year-old's brain is not an adult brain.

Prosecutors maintain that Pike, then 18, lured Slemmer to a secluded area, fearing she was a romantic rival. Pike and her boyfriend, Tadaryl Shipp, then tortured and killed their classmate. A satanic symbol was carved into the victim's body.

Pike does not deny her guilt, but her legal team and supporters argued that a death sentence is inappropriate for a crime committed at that age by someone with untreated mental illness, a history of severe sexual abuse, and neglect. Her attorneys challenged the state's lethal injection protocol, citing potential Eighth Amendment violations and the risk of re-traumatization due to past sexual abuse.

In a statement, Pike's attorneys said the 18-year-old who committed the crime, suffering from severe mental illness and trauma, no longer exists. They described the current Pike as a remorseful 50-year-old woman receiving mental health treatment and guiding other incarcerated women. They contended that science and legal systems now recognize the developmental differences in adolescent brains and that Pike's death sentence is an outlier.

Pike's boyfriend, Tadaryl Shipp, who was 17 at the time of the murder, received a life sentence with the possibility of parole due to his age. A third teen involved in the case received probation for accessory charges.

Pike herself stated 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 acknowledged taking Slemmer's life and expressed that the thought now sickens her.

Colleen Slemmer's mother, May Martinez, noted that her daughter was also a teenager when she was murdered and never had the chance to grow up. Martinez described her daughter as easygoing, a computer enthusiast, and trusting, which she believes was her downfall. She shared that she thinks of her daughter daily and that holidays are particularly difficult.

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