Tennessee to execute a woman for the first time in 200 years after governor denies clemency
Lawyers for Christa Pike, 50, convicted of killing a classmate in Knoxville in 1995, ask the supreme court to grant a stay.
TL;DR
- Christa Pike, 50, is scheduled for execution in Tennessee for the 1995 murder of Colleen Slemmer.
- This would be the first execution of a woman in Tennessee in 200 years.
- Pike's attorneys argue her death sentence is inappropriate due to her age (18 at the time) and a history of severe childhood abuse and untreated mental illness.
- The victim's mother, May Martinez, wants the execution to proceed, stating she has waited decades for justice.
- Governor Bill Lee has denied clemency, and Pike's lawyers are appealing to the supreme court for a stay.
- The crime involved extreme brutality, including a satanic symbol carved into the victim's body, and occurred during a period of societal fear regarding Satan worship.
- Pike's boyfriend, who was 17 at the time, received a life sentence with the possibility of parole.
- Executions of women are rare in the US; only 18 have been executed since 1976.