Christa Gail Pike, the only woman currently on Tennessee's death row, is set to become the first woman executed by a US state in over 200 years, with her execution scheduled for 30 September 2026.
The case
Pike was sentenced to death in 1996 after she, her boyfriend Tiddell Shipp, and friend Shadolla Peterson were convicted of murdering 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer, a fellow participant in a Knoxville job-training program for troubled teens. Prosecutors argued Pike believed Slemmer was trying to pursue her boyfriend, and trial testimony described a brutal killing carried out in nearby woods.
Her legal team's final plea
As her execution date approaches, Pike's legal team is asking Tennessee Governor Bill Lee to commute her sentence to life in prison without the possibility of parole, rather than carry out the execution. Her attorneys have been clear that clemency would not remove her responsibility for the crime, stating that a life sentence would continue to hold her accountable for the rest of her life rather than absolve her of guilt.
In support of the request, Pike's legal team has highlighted a history of severe childhood trauma, including repeated sexual assaults, alongside untreated mental illness, arguing these factors contributed to what happened without excusing it. Attorney Kelly Gleason said Pike has since received treatment for bipolar disorder and PTSD and now expresses deep remorse for her actions, calling on the governor to consider the ways institutions failed to protect her as a child and to show mercy.
Her separate legal challenge over execution method
Pike's legal team also challenged Tennessee's lethal injection protocol, citing a blood condition and compromised veins they argued could cause unconstitutional suffering during the procedure. Following a hearing in August, Senior Judge Mark Ward largely rejected these arguments, citing expert testimony that Pike would lose consciousness within 20 to 30 seconds of receiving the lethal dose, and medical records showing previous successful attempts to draw her blood.
Ward also rejected proposed alternatives, including a central line IV or execution by hanging, ruling the state no longer has the necessary equipment or trained staff for the latter. Pike, who practices Buddhism, has been granted permission for her religious advisor to be present during the execution.
