For the first time in over two centuries, a female inmate is set to be executed in the US state of Tennessee. The execution of 50-year-old Christa Pike via lethal injection is scheduled for September 30. She was convicted of the brutal torture and murder of a 19-year-old woman in 1995. However, her lawyers have filed a plea for clemency, citing a history of childhood abuse and mental instability. The BBC reported this news.
Christa Pike was 18 years old at the time of the incident. Following a romantic dispute, she and her then-boyfriend killed a teenager named Colleen Slemmer. The victim’s body was left in a mutilated state, with a symbol of Satan carved into her chest—an act that caused a massive public outcry at the time. While the trial court sentenced Pike to death, her accomplice received a life sentence with the possibility of parole. After all appeals were exhausted, the Tennessee Supreme Court finalized the date for her execution. Since 1970, 1,663 men have been executed in the US, compared to only 18 women.
Lawyers argue that Pike suffered from severe psychological trauma due to extreme sexual abuse, neglect, and rape during her childhood. She was later diagnosed with bipolar disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) while in prison. Allegations have been raised that her former legal counsel failed to adequately present this psychological information to the jury during the trial. UN human rights experts have called for a stay of the execution. However, the victim’s mother, May Martinez, has demanded that the execution be carried out immediately, stating that witnessing this justice is essential for her daughter’s soul to find peace. Unless the state’s Governor, Bill Lee, grants clemency at the last minute, the execution will proceed on the scheduled date.
