US state set to execute first woman
Case Overview
Tennessee may carry out its first execution of a woman in over 200 years
after the state Supreme Court approved moving forward with the death sentence of Christa Gail Pike.
She is the only woman on the state’s death row and was convicted of “one of the state’s most infamous murders.”
Crime and Conviction
Pike was 18 when she killed fellow student Colleen Slemmer in 1995 near the University of Tennessee.
Prosecutors said jealousy motivated the crime.
She was convicted of first-degree murder in 1996 and sentenced to death,
while her co-defendants received lesser sentences.
Appeals and Sentence
After decades of appeals, the state requested an execution date, “now set for September 30, 2026.”
Pike later received an additional prison sentence for a separate assault while incarcerated.
Ongoing Debate
Her lawyers cite her youth, trauma, and mental illness in opposing execution.
If carried out, it would be Tennessee’s first execution of a woman “since 1820.”
