Tennessee, US, Set to Execute Woman for First Time in 200 Years — What Was Her Crime?

Tennessee, US, Set to Execute Woman for First Time in 200 Years — What Was Her Crime?

Tennessee is preparing to execute Christa Pike, 50, on Wednesday, in what would be the US state’s first execution of a woman in 200 years.

Pike was 18 when she was convicted of killing 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer, a fellow student at Knoxville Job Corps, in 1995.

Prosecutors said Pike considered Slemmer a romantic rival and lured her to an isolated location, where she and her boyfriend, Tadaryl Shipp, attacked her. Slemmer was beaten and cut during the assault and died from her injuries.

The case attracted national attention because of its brutality and because a pentagram was carved into Slemmer’s body. Shipp later acknowledged that he was responsible for carving the symbol.

Pike has not denied killing Slemmer. Her lawyers, however, are challenging the death sentence, pointing to what they describe as a childhood marked by severe sexual abuse and neglect, as well as untreated mental illness.

Her defence team said Pike was sexually abused from a young age and was later diagnosed with bipolar disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder.

They argue that her age and background should have been given greater consideration when she was sentenced.

Shipp was 17 when the killing occurred and received a life sentence with the possibility of parole. A third teenager involved in the case received probation after admitting to being an accessory.

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee has declined to grant Pike clemency, while her attorneys have asked the US Supreme Court to halt the execution.

Slemmer’s mother, May Martinez, has spent decades waiting for the sentence to be carried out. She remembers her daughter as an easygoing young woman who loved computers, roller skating and volunteering with the Special Olympics.

Martinez has said Slemmer never had the opportunity to grow up and that she continues to think about her daughter every day.

If the execution proceeds, it would be Tennessee’s first execution of a woman since 1820.

Female executions remain rare in the United States. According to the Death Penalty Information Center, 18 women have been executed nationwide since 1976, accounting for about 1% of all executions.