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TENNESSEE WOMAN CHRISTA PIKE FACES SEPTEMBER 30 EXECUTION AFTER CLEMENCY DENIED
Christa Pike, who was convicted in connection with the 1995 killing of a fellow student in Tennessee, is scheduled to be executed on September 30 afte...
By Wavers Multimedia
Pike, now 50, was 18 when 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer was killed. If the execution proceeds as scheduled, Pike would become the first woman executed by Tennessee in more than 200 years.
CLEMENCY REQUEST REJECTED
Lee declined to intervene in Pike's case on September 28, leaving her execution scheduled to proceed unless the courts take further action.
Pike's attorneys have continued seeking legal intervention and have asked the U.S. Supreme Court to halt the execution.
The pending legal proceedings mean the execution remains subject to possible court action.
CASE DATES BACK TO 1995
Pike and her then-boyfriend, Tadaryl Shipp, were convicted in connection with Slemmer's death.
Slemmer was a student at Knoxville Job Corps when she was killed.
Pike was sentenced to death, while Shipp, who was 17 at the time, received a life sentence with the possibility of parole.
A third teenager involved in the case admitted to being an accessory and received probation.
LAWYERS CITE HER AGE AND BACKGROUND
Pike's attorneys have argued that circumstances surrounding her childhood and adolescence should be considered in assessing her death sentence.
Her legal team has pointed to a history of severe abuse and argued that important aspects of her background were not adequately presented during the sentencing phase of her trial.
They have also raised arguments concerning her age at the time of the crime and developments in understanding adolescent brain development since her conviction.
Pike has since been diagnosed with bipolar disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder, according to information presented in the legal proceedings.
SUPREME COURT APPEAL CONTINUES
Following Lee's decision, Pike's lawyers asked the U.S. Supreme Court to intervene and stop the scheduled execution.
Her attorneys have described her as remorseful and have pointed to changes in her life during her decades on death row.
Pike has also expressed remorse for Slemmer's killing and acknowledged the continuing impact of the crime on Slemmer's family.
HISTORIC EXECUTION FOR TENNESSEE
Tennessee has not executed a woman in more than two centuries.
If Pike's execution takes place as scheduled, it would mark the state's first execution of a woman in more than 200 years.
The execution is currently scheduled for September 30, 2026, but further legal action could affect whether it proceeds.