A woman on death row is scheduled to be executed in the U.S. state of Tennessee. If the U.S. Supreme Court does not intervene to stay the execution, she will become the first woman executed in Tennessee in nearly 200 years.
A Historic Execution in Tennessee
The inmate is 50-year-old Christa Pike, who was convicted of murdering her classmate in 1995. Her execution is scheduled for September 30.
Miraz.TV reports that unless stayed by the U.S. Supreme Court, Christa Pike will be the first female prisoner to face capital punishment in Tennessee in almost two centuries.
The 1995 Colleen Slemmer Murder
The crime occurred in 1995 when Pike was 18 years old. Alongside her then 17-year-old boyfriend, she murdered 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer. The case drew national attention due to the extreme brutality of the crime, the young ages of those involved, and the carving of an occult symbol into the victim’s body.
In 1996, the court found Pike guilty of first-degree premeditated murder and sentenced her to death, making her the youngest woman placed on death row in modern U.S. history.
Executions of Women in the United States
Executions of female inmates remain rare in the United States. In 2021, the federal execution of Lisa Montgomery marked the first time the U.S. federal government had executed a female prisoner in nearly 70 years.
