Christa Pike is known as the youngest person sentenced to death in the modern era in the United States. She was convicted of the 1995 murder of fellow Job Corps student Colleen Slemmer in Knox County Criminal Court. At just 18 years old, Pike tortured and killed Slemmer in what investigators described as an especially brutal crime. Prosecutors argued that the murder, which took place in a secluded, wooded area located near the University of Tennessee’s agricultural campus in Knoxville, was influenced by Pike’s fascination with occult practices and human sacrifice.
Her defense team, however, blamed the brain damage, mental illness, and childhood trauma as contributing factors behind her actions. When she was sentenced to death in March 1996 because of the violent nature of the crime, Pike had reportedly a breakdown in the courtroom.
During sentencing, the judge told her, “You shall be put to death by electric shock in the mode prescribed by law that you shall be transferred to the custody of the warden at the Tennessee prison and further on the 12th day of January 1997 your body shall be subjected to shock by sufficient current of electricity.” Pike cried and pleaded, “Oh God, have mercy upon me, please.”
Her death row has been marked by several controversies. Pike was accused of attempting to strangle a fellow inmate and later became involved in an alleged prison escape, which was ultimately foiled.
She was also sent to solitary confinement for decades. Her attorneys argued in court that she deserves another chance and that her mental health was declining in prison. The judge said that she had no more legal options and had to stay in jail.
Her attorneys also challenged the conditions of her confinement, noting, “(Pike lives in) a seven-by-twelve-foot space with only a bed, shelves, sink, and commode, for twenty-two to twenty-four hours per day, every day.” After this, she was later allowed limited contact with others and work a job. Pike remains on Tennessee’s death row, although no execution date has been set.
The chilling crime story has garnered more than 3.6 million views on YouTube, with many viewers expressing that her behavior in court did not match her crime. One viewer commented, “It’s so strange how killers cry when it’s their own lives on the line.” Another added, “If she felt old enough to carry out such a horrific crime, then old enough to face the punishment.”
A third one commented, “Find it funny how she says she doesn’t deserve to die. Neither did her victim.” “The irony, she’s crying/begging not to be executed for killing her victim, who must have been pleading for her life too but was shown not an ounce of mercy. RIP Colleen, maybe one day the justice system will grow a pair and finally deliver the justice you deserve,” posted another viewer.
Disclaimer: The Inquisitr individually could not independently confirm the facts of this incident and is reporting based on the information available within the public video record.
