Story summary
Christa Pike, 50, is set for execution by lethal injection in Tennessee on Wednesday, becoming the first woman executed there in over 200 years. Pike was sentenced to death at age 18 after she and her boyfriend tortured and murdered Colleen Slemmer, a 19-year-old classmate from Knoxville Job Corps, in a jealous rage on January 12, 1995. The case garnered widespread attention due to the brutality of the crime and the presence of a satanic symbol carved into Slemmer’s body.
Pike's attorneys argue that she should not face execution given her history of severe sexual abuse as a child, untreated mental illness, and post-traumatic stress disorder. They have petitioned the US Supreme Court for a stay of execution but were denied by Tennessee Governor Bill Lee, who upheld Pike’s sentence after reviewing her clemency request.
Slemmer's mother, who has been waiting decades for justice, supports moving forward with the lethal injection despite Pike’s claims of mental health issues. If executed, Pike would be one of only 18 women put to death in the US since the 1970s, compared to over 1,600 men during that same period. Critics argue that current juries informed about Pike's background might not sentence her to death today. The case highlights ongoing debates around capital punishment and its appropriateness for crimes committed by minors with severe psychological trauma.
Written for “Tennessee Woman Execution” on 2026-10-04,
grounded in this article and the 136 other(s) covering the same event.
Christa Pike was set to become the first woman executed by Tennessee in more than 200 years on Wednesday, but she survived the execution attempt, which was delayed by nine hours, even after officials administered two doses of pentobarbital.
asserted
officials → set → pentobarbital
Pike was alive as of Thursday morning and was transported to an off-site medical facility, according to the Tennessee Department of Correction.
uncertain
Pike → transport → Correction
Gov. Bill Lee (R-TN) has since ordered a third-party review of what happened and said Tennessee’s remaining scheduled execution will not take place this year.
asserted
execution → order → place
Here is what to know about Pike’s case.
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know → know → case
What happened during the execution attempt?
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What → happen → attempt
Pike’s execution was scheduled for 10 a.m. local time Wednesday, but the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit issued a stay about an hour before the scheduled execution.
asserted
Court → schedule → execution
The court said it needed additional time to consider a new legal challenge from Pike concerning whether her history of childhood sexual abuse and rape had been adequately considered during her trial.
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history → say → trial
Tennessee appealed to the Supreme Court, arguing that the stay should be lifted and the execution allowed to proceed.
asserted
execution → appeal → Court
The high court granted the state’s request Wednesday afternoon, with Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, and Ketanji Brown Jackson dissenting.
asserted
Sotomayor → grant → request
Sotomayor wrote that the Sixth Circuit should have been allowed to consider Pike’s pending claims before the state carried out an irreversible punishment.
uncertain
state → write → punishment
The execution was then rescheduled for Wednesday evening.
asserted
execution → reschedule → evening
Pike delivered what were expected to be her final words, saying she was at peace and that she would “leave this world” in love.
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she → deliver → love
Pike was then given two syringes of pentobarbital, a drug that suppresses the central nervous system.
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that → give → system
Witnesses reported that she remained responsive after the first dose and at one point raised her head and asked prison officials whether her arm was supposed to feel the way it did.
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it → report → officials
A second dose was administered at about 8:26 p.m.
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dose → administer → p.m.
Pike could reportedly be heard snoring behind the execution-room curtain, but media members were soon escorted from the hospital.
uncertain
members → hear → hospital
Pike’s attorneys subsequently filed emergency motions seeking to halt the execution, arguing that she was alive and was experiencing unnecessary suffering.
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she → file → suffering
The Tennessee Department of Correction said it had followed every step of the state’s “lawful, established execution protocol” and said the lethal-injection chemical “has consistently been effective.”
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chemical → say → protocol
The department later said Pike had been transported to an off-site medical facility.
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Pike → say → facility
What was Pike convicted of?
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Pike → convict → What
Pike, now 50, was sentenced to death for the 1995 murder of 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer in Knoxville, Tennessee.
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Pike → sentence → Knoxville
Pike was 18 when she killed Slemmer, a fellow student at a Job Corps training center.
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she → kill → center
According to evidence presented at trial, Pike and her boyfriend, 17-year-old Tadaryl Shipp, attacked Slemmer after luring her to an isolated area.
uncertain
Pike → accord → area
Pike beat and tortured Slemmer, cutting her with a box cutter and meat cleaver and striking her head with a piece of asphalt.
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Pike → beat → asphalt
A satanic symbol was carved into Slemmer’s chest, and Pike took a piece of her skull as a souvenir, according to court records.
uncertain
Pike → carve → records
Pike was convicted of first-degree murder and conspiracy and sentenced to death in 1996.
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Pike → convict → 1996
Shipp was sentenced to life in prison for his role in the killing.
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Shipp → sentence → killing
Pike has not denied killing Slemmer.
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Pike → deny → Slemmer
Her attorneys have instead argued that her age at the time of the crime, mental illness, and extensive history of childhood sexual abuse should have been given greater consideration when determining her sentence.
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age → argue → sentence
How did Pike’s appeals unfold?
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appeals → unfold → ?
Pike’s case has gone through decades of state and federal appeals.
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case → go → appeals
The Tennessee Supreme Court upheld her conviction and death sentence in 1998.
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Court → uphold → 1998
She later pursued state postconviction relief, arguing in part that her trial attorneys had failed to investigate and present mitigating evidence concerning her childhood abuse adequately.
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attorneys → pursue → abuse
Tennessee courts rejected those claims.
uncertain
courts → reject → claims
In 2011, the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals upheld the denial of post-conviction relief.
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Court → uphold → relief
Pike then pursued federal habeas relief to bring her case before a federal court.
asserted
Pike → pursue → court
The Sixth Circuit rejected her claims in 2019, finding that she had not demonstrated that her attorneys’ alleged failures prejudiced her at sentencing.
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failures → reject → sentencing
The Supreme Court declined to hear that challenge in June 2020, completing what Tennessee described in its Supreme Court filings as the three levels of review of her conviction and sentence: direct appeal, state post-conviction review, and federal habeas review.
Pike continued to pursue other legal challenges.
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Pike → decline → challenges
In 2024, the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals considered another post-conviction proceeding.
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Court → consider → proceeding
In January 2026, she also challenged Tennessee’s lethal injection protocol, arguing that Tennessee’s 12-hour isolation before execution violated her First Amendment rights.
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isolation → challenge → rights
…and 14 more, not listed.
The Aporia
