Christa Pike, the only woman currently on Tennessee's death row, is the subject of a rare collection of personal prison letters, revealed just days before her scheduled execution.

Background on her case

Pike was 18 when she murdered fellow student Colleen Slemmer, 19, becoming the youngest woman ever sentenced to death in American history following her 1996 conviction. Her execution by lethal injection is scheduled for 30 September, which would make her the first woman executed in Tennessee in over 200 years.

The letters

WBIR obtained copies of correspondence between Pike and a pen pal known as Richie of Yonkers, New York, spanning the late 1990s to early 2000s. David Adamovich, who now owns the letters as part of a wider collection of prison correspondence, said Pike appeared to develop deep feelings for her pen pal, similar to a pattern he'd seen among other female inmates who corresponded with the same man. He said: "I see she did the same thing many of the other females did in the letters to Richard, which were to madly fall in love with him, and want to marry him once they got out of prison," adding that many of the women were "love-starved" and excited to receive male attention.

Pike's early letters were signed "your new found friend," later shifting to "all my love." One Valentine's Day letter, written when Pike was around 20, included a lipstick kiss mark left on the page. In 2002, when Pike requested to drop her appeals and have an execution date set, it was reportedly Richie she confided in, telling him she felt "so broken" and "couldn't quit crying." The final letter in the collection is a Christmas card featuring a cartoon of a man in an electric chair. Adamovich, who holds around 9,000 inmate letters in total, noted Pike's collection was relatively modest compared to others he owns.

Her co-defendant

Pike had previously been in a relationship with Tadaryl Shipp, who was also convicted in connection with Slemmer's murder. Because Shipp was 17 at the time of the crime, he was ineligible for the death penalty and instead received a life sentence with the possibility of parole.

Where her legal appeals stand

Pike's legal team has continued fighting the execution, filing a 226-page clemency petition asking Governor Bill Lee to commute her sentence to life without parole. On 23 September, the Tennessee Supreme Court denied a request to stay the execution. In response, her legal team said in a statement: "We are deeply disappointed in the Tennessee Supreme Court's decision, but we will press forward, seeking relief from the U.S. Supreme Court while also continuing our request that Governor Lee grant Christa clemency." The clemency request remains pending. Separately, her team has also raised concerns about her medical condition potentially making lethal injection unusually painful, and has requested an all-female execution team be present, citing her history of sexual abuse, though Senior Judge Mark Ward ruled her medical condition would not prevent staff from starting an IV, and the state has not guaranteed the all-female request will be honoured.