Woman on death row makes final plea, cites past trauma

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Christa Pike, the only woman currently on Tennessee’s death row, made a final plea for her life as her scheduled execution approached, asking Gov. Bill Lee to commute her death sentence to life in prison without parole.

Pike, now 50, was sentenced to death for the 1995 murder of 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer, a fellow Job Corps student in Knoxville. Pike was 18 at the time of the killing.

Her execution is scheduled for Sept. 30, 2026, and if carried out, she would become the first woman executed by Tennessee in more than 200 years.

Pike Points to a Childhood Marked by Abuse

In her clemency petition, Pike's attorneys asked the governor to consider the extensive trauma she experienced as a child.

According to the petition, Pike was repeatedly sexually abused beginning when she was very young and was later raped on multiple occasions. Her attorneys argue that the abuse, combined with untreated mental illness and other circumstances surrounding her upbringing, should be considered when evaluating the death sentence she received as an 18-year-old.

Pike was later diagnosed with bipolar disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder while incarcerated.

Her legal team argues that the full extent of her childhood trauma and its psychological effects were not adequately presented to the jury during her original trial.

The 1995 Murder of Colleen Slemmer

Pike was convicted in the killing of Slemmer, who was also a student at the Knoxville-area Job Corps.

According to court records and reporting on the case, Pike and two other teenagers were involved in Slemmer's death. Pike was the only person in the group to receive a death sentence.

Her former boyfriend, Tadaryl Shipp, was 17 at the time and therefore was not eligible for the death penalty. He received a life sentence and is now eligible for parole. A second co-defendant, Shadolla Peterson, testified against Pike and Shipp and received probation.

Advocates Asked for Her Sentence to Be Commuted

Pike's request for clemency attracted support from trauma specialists, advocates and organizations who urged Tennessee officials to replace her death sentence with life without parole.

The Death Penalty Information Center reported that more than 100 organizations and experts signed a letter supporting commutation. Advocates emphasized that acknowledging Pike's traumatic childhood does not erase Slemmer's death or the suffering experienced by her family, but argued that her history provides important context for understanding the circumstances surrounding the crime.

United Nations human rights experts also called for Tennessee to halt the execution, citing Pike's history of childhood abuse and decades in prison.

The State Has Not Disputed Her Abuse

One notable element of Pike's clemency effort is that Tennessee officials have not disputed the basic claims about the abuse she suffered as a child.

During an August hearing concerning her execution protocol, a Tennessee assistant attorney general acknowledged the terrible abuse Pike experienced, according to the Death Penalty Information Center.

Pike's attorneys have also argued that the state's lethal-injection procedure could trigger severe trauma because of her history of sexual violence and abuse.

Governor Bill Lee Denies Clemency

Pike's final appeal to the governor has now been rejected.

Gov. Bill Lee denied clemency, leaving Pike's Sept. 30 execution scheduled to proceed unless a court or another authorized authority intervenes.

The Tennessee Department of Correction has confirmed that the execution is scheduled for 10 a.m. CDT on Sept. 30 at Riverbend Maximum Security Institution in Nashville.

A Historic Execution

If the execution takes place as scheduled, Pike would become the first woman put to death by Tennessee in more than two centuries.

Her case has drawn national attention because of both the severity of the 1995 murder and the extensive history of abuse described in her clemency petition.

For Slemmer's loved ones, the case has always centered on the loss of a 19-year-old woman. For Pike's advocates, it has also become a debate over how a person's childhood trauma and age at the time of a crime should factor into a death sentence.

With the governor's clemency decision now made, Pike's legal team has only a short time remaining to seek another intervention before the scheduled execution.

Source: ABC News