Christa Pike, 50, will face the electric chair on Wednesday in Nashville's state prison, marking the first female execution in Tennessee since 1820. Tennessee Governor Bill Lee said on Monday he would not grant clemency, setting the state’s execution schedule in stone.
The 1995 murder of 19‑year‑old Colleen Slemmer at Knoxville Job Corps involved Pike and boyfriend Tadaryl Shipp, who was 17. Prosecutors said Pike lured Slemmer to a secluded spot, then beat and stabbed her with a box cutter, leaving a pentagram carved into her body.
Pike’s defense team has petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to halt the execution, citing her traumatic childhood and untreated bipolar disorder that prosecutors failed to present at trial. Assistant federal defender Stephen Ferrell highlighted that Pike was sexually abused from toddlerhood and raped at ages 11 and 17, arguing that the jury was denied crucial context.
Slemmer’s mother, May Martinez, has begged for the execution to proceed, saying she has waited decades to see justice delivered. Martinez recalled her daughter’s love for roller skating and computer work, describing her as a trusting, easy‑going teen whose life was cut short.
The state’s execution schedule remains unchanged, with the electric chair set for 11 a.m. Wednesday, unless the Supreme Court issues a stay. The decision will be announced after the court’s review later this week, marking a pivotal moment in Tennessee’s long‑standing death‑penalty debate.