Tennessee Supreme Court Declines to Stay Execution of Christa Pike
- On September 30, 2026, Christa Pike is scheduled for lethal injection in Tennessee; if the execution proceeds, she will become the first woman executed in the state in more than 200 years.
- Convicted for the 1995 murder of Colleen Slemmer, Pike was 18 when she, Tadaryl Shipp, and Shadolla Peterson lured the student into the woods; Shipp received life in prison, and Peterson received probation.
- Defense attorneys argue the jury convicted Pike without knowing she suffered childhood abuse and brain damage; a clinical psychologist concluded she "experienced more severe adverse events than 99% of the U.S. population."
- The Tennessee Supreme Court declined to stop the execution at Riverbend Maximum Security Institution this week; her legal team plans to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court over lethal injection protocol concerns.
- Slemmer's mother, May Martinez, plans to attend the execution, stating "It's never about the victims," and media coverage has distracted from her daughter's memory; Pike has expressed remorse in letters since 2023.
13 Articles
13 Articles
Tennessee’s Only Female Death Row Inmate Fights Execution In Final Days: ‘My Brain Eats Itself’
Christa Pike, the only woman on Tennessee’s death row, has formally asked Governor Bill Lee to commute her death sentence to life in prison without parole ahead of her scheduled execution on Wednesday, Sept. 30. If the execution is carried out at 10 a.m. inside the Riverbend Maximum Security Institution in Nashville, Pike, now 50, […] Tennessee’s Only Female Death Row Inmate Fights Execution In Final Days: ‘My Brain Eats Itself’
Christa was 18 years old when she murdered a love rival. On Wednesday, she will be executed for the crime, and now tells GP about her feelings: "I am not afraid of dying, I am afraid of the incompetence of those who want to kill me."
Tennessee Supreme Court declines to stay execution of West Virginia woman
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WATE) — Less than one week before the scheduled execution of the only woman on Tennessee's death row, the state's Supreme Court has denied a request to stay the execution. The Tennessee Supreme Court issued a ruling on Wednesday denying her petition, which argued that the state's lethal injection protocol would violate Eighth [...]
What Did Christa Pike Do? Inside the Gruesome Crime That Landed Her on Death Row
Christa Pike is the only woman on Tennessee’s death row — one of 42 inmates awaiting execution in the state — and she is scheduled to be put to death on September 30, 2026, for a 1995 murder she committed as a teenager. If the execution proceeds, Pike will become the first woman executed in […]
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