Tennessee is preparing to execute Christa Pike, a 50-year-old woman convicted of murder three decades ago, marking the state’s first execution of a female inmate in 200 years. The scheduled killing will take place on Wednesday following Governor Bill Lee’s denial of her clemency petition on Monday.
Pike was 18 when she and her 17-year-old boyfriend killed their 19-year-old classmate, Colleen Slemmer, at the Knoxville Job Corps center in 1995. Her legal team has since asked the Supreme Court to issue a stay of execution.
The Supreme Court stepping in might be the only way to stop this. Let’s see if they grant a stay soon.
It’s shocking that this is happening now. I guess the legal system moves slowly, but too fast for some.
What about her mental state and the abuse she suffered? Why isn’t that being considered more heavily in these proceedings?
How can anyone justify this? A girl was sixteen when the crime happened. The death penalty should be abolished.
I never thought I’d live to see Tennessee execute a woman. It feels incredibly strange after two centuries.