Tennessee is set to execute a woman for the first time in 200 years

Key Points:

• Christa Pike, now 50, is scheduled for execution in Tennessee, marking the state's first female execution in 200 years, for the 1995 murder of classmate Colleen Slemmer when Pike was 18.
• Pike and her boyfriend were convicted of torturing and killing Slemmer, with a satanic symbol carved into the victim's body; Pike's defense highlights her traumatic childhood, untreated mental illness, and argues her age should mitigate her sentence.
• Tennessee Governor Bill Lee denied clemency, while Pike's attorneys have appealed to the Supreme Court for a stay, citing new understandings of adolescent brain development and Pike's history of abuse and mental health issues.
• Slemmer’s mother supports carrying out the execution, emphasizing the lasting impact of her daughter's death and the lost potential of her life, while the brutal nature of the crime drew significant public attention at the time.
• Female executions are rare in Tennessee and nationwide, with only 18 women executed in the U.S. since 1976; Pike's execution would be a historic event as the first female execution in Tennessee since 1820.