Story summary
Christa Pike, 50, is set to be executed by lethal injection on Wednesday in Tennessee, marking the first time a woman will be put to death in the state in over 200 years. Pike was convicted of murdering Colleen Slemmer, her 19-year-old classmate at Knoxville Job Corps, in January 1995 when she herself was only 18. Prosecutors claimed Pike feared Slemmer as a romantic rival and tortured and killed her alongside her boyfriend.
Pike’s attorneys argue that the death penalty is inappropriate given Pike's troubled childhood of sexual abuse and neglect, which they claim would influence a modern jury to not sentence her to death. However, Tennessee Governor Bill Lee has denied Pike’s request for clemency, stating he will uphold the state's sentence.
Slemmer's mother supports the execution after waiting decades for justice. The case garnered significant public attention due to its brutality and because of satanic symbols carved into Slemmer's body. As of now, only 18 women have been executed in the U.S. since the 1970s compared to 1,663 men. Pike’s legal team is still seeking a last-minute reprieve from the Supreme Court due to her PTSD and concerns over psychological trauma during execution.
Written for “Tennessee Woman Execution” on 2026-10-04,
grounded in this article and the 133 other(s) covering the same event.
Tennessee governor orders outside review after death row inmate Christa Pike survives execution attempt
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Pike → order → attempt
It was the 2nd failed execution in Tennessee this year
Christa Pike, convicted of murdering a classmate three decades ago, survived Tennessee's effort to execute her by means of lethal injection late on Wednesday, prison officials said, foiling the state's first attempt to put a woman to death in two centuries.
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officials → fail → centuries
Pike's condition following the ordeal was not immediately known, and it was not clear what legal avenues her lawyers or the state might pursue next after she was taken for medical treatment from the Riverbend Maximum Security Institution in Nashville.
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she → follow → Nashville
The Tennessee Department of Correction defended its handling of the high-profile execution, which had been opposed by her lawyers and human rights experts due to Pike's age at the time of the crime, her history as the victim of childhood sexual abuse and untreated mental illness.
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which → defend → abuse
"The Tennessee Department of Correction followed every step of the state’s lawful, established execution protocol approved by the Attorney General’s Office," the agency said in a statement.
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agency → follow → statement
"The lethal injection chemical in the protocol has consistently been effective, and the protocol does not allow for additional procedures beyond what was carried out this evening.
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what → allow → procedures
Christa Pike has been transported to an off-site medical facility," the statement concluded.
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statement → transport → facility
Her lawyers said in court filings that officials gave Pike two doses of pentobarbital.
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officials → say → pentobarbital
Tennessee announced a switch nearly two years ago from a three-drug protocol previously used for executions.
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Tennessee → announce → executions
Governor suspends execution
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Governor → suspend → execution
Pike's lawyers filed a federal court motion during the process seeking to halt her execution, citing witnesses' accounts that "executioners had injected both syringes of lethal injection chemicals and Pike is still alive and snoring," NBC News reported.
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News → file → chemicals
Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee, who denied Pike's clemency petition on Monday, said in a statement that he has ordered "a comprehensive, third-party review to determine exactly what occurred" and that the remaining scheduled execution will not take place this year.
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execution → deny → place
The failed execution is the second in Tennessee this year, after prison officials in May aborted attempts to execute a man convicted of murders after failing to find a suitable vein for his lethal injection.
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officials → fail → injection
The botched attempt on Wednesday came hours after the U.S. Supreme Court lifted an 11th-hour lower-court stay of the execution, clearing the way for Pike, 50, to be put to death for her role in the 1995 torture and beating death of 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer in Knoxville.
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Pike → botch → Knoxville
Pike was 18 in January 1995 when she, 17-year-old boyfriend Tadaryl Shipp and a third companion lured Slemmer, a classmate at their Knoxville Job Corps vocational centre, into a wooded area where they tortured and killed her.
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they → lure → her
The grisly nature of the slaying, which involved the perpetrators carving the shape of a pentagram in the victim's chest and taking a chunk of her skull as a souvenir of the carnage, drew intense media coverage at the time.
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perpetrators → involve → time
Pike and Shipp confessed to the killing, and both were convicted of first-degree murder.
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both → confess → murder
Slemmer's mother, May Martinez, has spoken out in support of the execution.
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mother → speak → execution
Ambulance arrives
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Ambulance → arrive → ?
Journalists who witnessed the attempted execution described snoring, loud exhales, gasps and complaints from Pike about discomfort in her arm.
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who → witness → arm
At times, the curtain was closed and journalists could only hear sounds.
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journalists → close → sounds
Clergy were called into the chamber twice, they said, before an ambulance was seen arriving at the prison and then leaving.
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ambulance → call → prison
Supreme Court ruling enables midazolam to still be used for executions
Oklahoma releases review after botched injection of death row inmate
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Oklahoma → enable → inmate
Aside from being the first woman the state of Tennessee has tried to execute in more than 200 years, Pike was also poised to become the only person in the modern era of U.S. capital punishment to be executed in Tennessee for a crime committed as a teenager.
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Pike → try → teenager
In a 226-page petition asking the governor to commute Pike's death penalty to a life sentence without the possibility of parole, her lawyers earlier this week documented her history as the childhood victim of violence, neglect and sexual abuse, including two rapes at ages 11 and 17.
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lawyers → ask → ages
They also cited diagnoses she received in prison for bipolar disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder.
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she → cite → disorder
Moreover, her lawyers pointed to evidence that Pike's mother drank heavily during pregnancy, contributing to faulty brain development that made it difficult for their client to control her impulses as a young person.
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client → point → person
Pike was also convicted in August 2001 of attempted first-degree murder in an assault on another inmate, according to the Correction Department.
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Pike → convict → Department
Executions of female prison inmates are exceedingly rare in the U.S., with women accounting for just 18 of the 1,683 people put to death since the Supreme Court allowed capital punishment to resume in 1976, according to the Death Penalty Information Center.
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punishment → account → Center
Before Wednesday, Tennessee had executed 17 people.
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Tennessee → execute → people
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