Tennessee governor denies clemency for Christa Pike, first woman executed in state in 200 years

Image caption: If the execution proceeds, Christa Pike would be the first woman to be executed in Tennessee in more than 200 years

By Sareen Habeshian

Tennessee Governor Bill Lee has denied a clemency request from death row inmate Christa Pike, who is scheduled to be executed by lethal injection on Wednesday.

Pike, now 50, was 18 when she and her then-boyfriend beat, tortured and murdered Colleen Slemmer, a 19-year-old they met at a job training camp for troubled teens.

She may have one last chance at halting her execution as her attorneys have filed a petition with the US Supreme Court hoping for a last-minute reprieve.

If it proceeds, Pike would be the first woman to be executed in Tennessee in more than 200 years. Only 18 women have been executed in the US since the 1970s, compared to 1,663 men.

Governor's Statement

"After deliberate consideration of Christa Gail Pike's request for clemency, and after a thorough review of the case, I am upholding the sentence of the State of Tennessee and do not plan to intervene," Governor Lee said in a statement.

Pike's legal team had filed the clemency petition earlier this month, requesting that her death sentence be commuted to life in prison.

Legal Arguments

Moving ahead with Pike's execution puts Tennessee "on singular footing," her attorneys said, as she would be the first person the state "executes in the modern death penalty era who was a teenager at the time of the offence."

Attorneys Stephen Ferrell, Kelly Gleason and Randy Spivey said the governor's decision "leaves unanswered vital questions about Tennessee's execution protocol."

"With this decision, the State of Tennessee is ignoring what both science and our legal system have decided: an 18-year-old brain is not an adult brain, and 18 is too young to face execution," they said in a statement on Monday.

The Crime and Trial

The murder of Colleen Slemmer created a media frenzy in Knoxville, Tennessee in 1995, when the 19-year-old was found with a pentagram — a symbol of Satanic ritual — carved into her chest.

Pike had accused Colleen of insulting her and trying to steal her boyfriend. Two other residents at the camp later testified that Pike had bragged about the murder before and after, and showed them a piece of Colleen's skull.

A year later, she was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to death, while then-boyfriend Tadaryl Shipp — who was 17 at the time — was given a life sentence with the possibility of parole.

At the time of her incarceration, the 21-year-old was the youngest person on death row, according to the Tennessee Department of Corrections.

Pike is scheduled to be executed on 30 September after years of failed appeals.

Victim's Family

Colleen's mother has insisted she wants Pike's execution to move forward so that her daughter "finally can be resting."

Image caption: Colleen Slemmer

Defense Arguments on Mental Health and Childhood Trauma

Pike has a documented history of childhood sexual abuse, abandonment and neglect. Her lawyers believe that if she was found guilty of the same crime today as a teenager she would not receive a death sentence.

"The 18-year-old girl suffering from severe mental illness and near-debilitating trauma no longer exists," her attorneys said. "Christa is a 50-year-old remorseful woman who understands her actions, receives proper treatment for her mental illness, and provides for and guides fellow incarcerated women."

In the years since her sentencing, her defense team have uncovered details about her childhood that they say the jury never had the chance to consider.

Related Topics

• United States
• Crime
• Capital punishment
• Tennessee