For the first time in more than 200 years, Tennessee is preparing to execute a woman on death row. Christa Gail Pike’s case is on everyone’s lips as they debate the legal and ethical concerns.
Pike, 50, was convicted of the murder of Colleen Slemmer, reports USA Today. She could die by lethal injection on September 30 unless she wins her lawsuit or Gov. Bill Lee grants her clemency.
Pike was 18 when she murdered Slemmer, alongside her boyfriend Tadaryl Shipp. She was the principal attacker that night. A third person, her friend Shadolla Peterson, kept watch during the attack. Peterson was sentenced to probation, and Shipp was given a life sentence. The killing is regarded as one of the most notorious crimes in Tennessee history due to the excessive torture that was used on Slemmer.
The trio had lured Slemmer away from the Job Corps training center, where they all worked, because Pike believed that Slemmer was trying to steal 17-year-old Shipp from her.
🗣After 200 years, Tennessee state plans an execution of a woman, Christa Gail Pike, who was 18 years old when she committed a gruesome crime of torture and murder, then showed-off a piece of the unalived woman’s skull to schoolmates. She is now 50. ✅ https://t.co/fvyLkSIBNZ pic.twitter.com/SPP9HrsQqH
— Mister Pate (@MrPate777) March 21, 2026
Three decades later, and Pike is challenging the state’s execution method in court. She says specifically the lethal injection goes against her constitutional rights, her religious beliefs, and her constitutional protections against against cruel and unusual punishment.
Pike’s attorneys filed the lawsuit in January, stating that the injection would cause her excessive pain and added terror and suffering. Pike suffers from thrombocytosis, a medical condition, that could lead to unusual bleeding “death by drowning in one’s own blood” if she dies by lethal injection. Her team referenced a few “botched” executions that they feel support their claims.
The other method available to her, death by electrocution, is not viable because she is a Buddhist. Pike argues that her religion prevents her from “participating in any process leading to her own death.”
Pike’s legal team also say that if her trial had taken place in recent years, she wouldn’t be on death row. They list her young age and mental illness, and history of s-xual abuse as a child as some of the mitigating factors that the court would have considered.
The Attorney General pointed out that the Constitution doesn’t guarantee her a painless death. Jonathan Skrmetti said her claims rely on speculation, and highlighted how brutal her crime against the 19-year-old Slemmer was.
The countdown has begun. Tennessee is preparing to execute its first woman in over 200 years. Christa Gail Pike has been on death row since 1995, and her execution date is now set. What led to this historic moment?#TrueCrime pic.twitter.com/rm89LZ5avp
— Crime and Motive (@crimeandmotive) March 2, 2026
He said, “Pike has offered nothing but speculation that the well-established, constitutional lethal injection method poses any unique risk in her case.” He added, “We wish Pike’s commitment to the sanctity of life had arrived in time to save Colleen Slemmer.”
Pike has shown how much she regrets her actions recently. “There is no excuse for what I did,” she wrote, adding that she takes full responsibility and regrets the killing.
As for Slemmer’s family, they are focused on letting justice take its course. Slemmer’s mother, May Martinez, remains adamant that Pike be executed for her crimes. She said, “My heart breaks every single day because I keep reliving it.” She continued,”I just want Christa down so I can end it, relieve my daughter, so she finally can be resting.” Judges must now decide Pike’s fate as she waits for their decision.
