Christa Gail Pike is set to become the first woman executed in Tennessee since the state began officially recording executions over a century ago, pending a scheduled execution next year. After multiple appeals failed, the Tennessee Supreme Court has confirmed Pike’s death warrant. She was convicted in 1995 for the gruesome murder of her classmate, Colleen Slemer, believing Slemer was attempting to steal her boyfriend. Pike, now 49, was the youngest woman on death row when sentenced at age 20.
The execution is to take place at Nashville’s Riverbend maximum security prison, with lethal injection being the primary method. Pike’s lawyers argue for leniency, citing her mental health issues and the circumstances surrounding her crime, suggesting that societal views on capital punishment have evolved since her sentencing. Currently, there are only 48 women on death row in the U.S., with only 18 women executed since 1976.
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