Christa Pike is scheduled to be executed by lethal injection on September 30, making her the first woman to be executed in Tennessee in over 200 years. Pike, now 50, was convicted of the 1995 murder of 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer. Pike and her then-boyfriend, Tadaryl Shipp, beat, tortured, and murdered Slemmer, carving a pentagram into her chest. Pike claimed Slemmer had insulted her and tried to steal her boyfriend. Two other residents at the job training camp testified that Pike bragged about the murder and showed them a piece of Slemmer's skull.
Pike was sentenced to death a year later, while Shipp, who was 17 at the time, received a life sentence with the possibility of parole. If the execution proceeds, Pike will be one of only 18 women executed in the US since the 1970s, compared to 1,663 men.
Colleen Slemmer's mother, May Martinez, has stated she wants Pike's execution to happen so her daughter can finally be at rest. "She did the crime. I think she should pay for it," Martinez told WBIR in 2021, and reiterated to the BBC this week. "I would feel better that she felt the same pain that Colleen did."
Pike's lawyers have filed a clemency petition, highlighting her history of childhood sexual abuse, abandonment, and neglect. They argue that if tried today as a juvenile, she would not receive a death sentence. Sandra Babcock, an expert in gender and the death penalty at Cornell Law School, stated that Pike's defense team in 1995 failed to present evidence of her extensive history of abuse and rape, which they were aware of. "Her case is so uniquely compelling, not just because of her really incomprehensible history of sexual violence but the combination of that with her youth and her mental illness."
Forensic psychologist Dr. Diana McCoy's 1995 report found Pike was severely neglected and abused by her mother's partners, and raped multiple times, starting before she was school age. Pike's mother reportedly did not believe her. Pike's trial lawyer did not call McCoy or many other recommended witnesses, a decision later cited in claims of ineffective assistance of counsel, which were denied.
Pike was diagnosed with bipolar disorder in prison in 2021 and has been medicated since. In 2023, forensic psychologist Dr. Bethany Brand assessed Pike, noting her childhood was filled with abuse and sexual violations, starting before she was school age. Brand stated that Pike's untreated manic episodes and PTSD influenced her perception of threat and lack of emotional control during the murder.
Babcock argued that executing Pike would demonstrate that the death penalty is not reserved for the "worst of the worst" but for those who received the worst legal representation and are the most damaged and vulnerable.
Last year, the Tennessee Supreme Court ruled that Pike had not shown circumstances justifying clemency, and her appeals were exhausted. A federal appeals court had previously stated that the jury heard about her difficult childhood and that new evidence of mental health issues would not have changed the verdict.
Pike's case has drawn parallels to that of Lisa Montgomery, who was executed in 2021 despite similar arguments from her defense team regarding abuse and mental illness.
Unless granted clemency by Tennessee Governor Bill Lee, who has never granted clemency in a death penalty case, Pike will be executed on September 30. The Tennessee Supreme Court denied her request to halt the execution this week.
Pike has requested an all-female team for her execution, citing that being held down by men would exacerbate her trauma. The state has indicated female guards will transfer Pike but has not guaranteed it.
Martinez, Slemmer's mother, continues to advocate for Pike's execution, stating, "My heart breaks every single day because I keep reliving it and reliving it, and I can't no more, and I want this to happen before I die." She added, "I just want Christa down so I can end it, relieve my daughter, so she finally can be resting."
The victim's rights advocacy group, The Justice Coalition, supports Martinez's stance, with executive director Robert Bracewell stating, "We stand firm with the family that on the 30 September her execution ought to proceed."
Ashlee Sellars, who met Pike in prison and is now an advocate for justice reform, grapples with the conflicting beliefs of justice for Slemmer and the potential for redemption for Pike. "These horrible things happen in your youth and then those traumas moved through you, in our community, and you cause harm to somebody else," Sellars said. She believes Pike is fighting for her life to matter, rather than just to live.
