Execution Date Set For First Woman In Tennessee Since 1819

Image Credit: Tennessee Department of Correction & Picryl / Public Domain

The Tennessee Conservative [By Adelia Kirchner] –

The Tennessee Supreme Court has officially set an execution date for 49-year-old Christa Pike.

In 1996, Pike was convicted of brutally stabbing and killing her Knoxville Job Corps co-worker, Colleen Slemmer, the year prior.

If executed, she will be the first woman to be executed in Tennessee since the year 1819. She will also be the first individual who was only 18 years old at the time of the crime to be executed in the state since the death penalty was reinstated in 1972.

According to a court order, Pike has gone through a three-tier appeals process but the court has not found any reason to go back on her death sentence.

Pike did ask the court to deny the state’s motion to schedule the execution and requested a commutation. However, this request was denied.

“We are disappointed in the Tennessee Supreme Court’s order that grants the State of Tennessee’s motion for Christa’s execution,” Pike’s attorney’s said in a statement. “We remain steadfast that Christa’s death sentence should be commuted given her youth and severe mental illness at the time of the crime. Christa was sentenced to death in 1996 for a crime she and two others committed when she was just 18 years old.”

After Pike’s 1996 conviction, she was convicted of attempted first-degree murder in 2004 for almost choking a fellow inmate to death with a shoestring in 2001.

In 2012 Pike attempted to escape but did not succeed.

Pike’s childhood experiences involving years of physical and sexual abuse and neglect as well as an eventual diagnosis of bipolar and post-traumatic stress disorders have been used to argue that Pike has since been able to receive proper treatment and is now deeply remorseful.

Pike’s execution is scheduled for September 30^th, 2026 unless a succeeding court order interferes with the process.

About the Author: Adelia Kirchner is a Tennessee resident and reporter for the Tennessee Conservative. Currently the host of Subtle Rampage Podcast, she has also worked for the South Dakota State Legislature and interned for Senator Bill Hagerty’s Office in Nashville, Tennessee.  You can reach Adelia at adelia@tennesseeconservativenews.com.