Tennessee Prepares to Execute First Woman in Over 200 Years
Tennessee is preparing to carry out a historic and rare execution: that of Christa Gail Pike, the only woman on the state’s death row. The Tennessee Supreme Court has approved moving forward with her death sentence, marking the first female execution in the state since 1820. Pike, now 49, will be executed on September 30, 2026, if all legal avenues are exhausted.
Pike was 18 when she committed the murder of 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer on January 12, 1995, in a wooded area near the University of Tennessee’s agricultural campus in Knoxville. Both were students at the Knoxville Job Corps, a residential program for struggling young adults. Court records describe a brutal attack: Pike slashed Slemmer’s throat, struck her with a meat cleaver, carved a pentagram into her chest, and crushed her skull with a piece of asphalt. She reportedly kept a fragment of Slemmer’s skull as a trophy.
Following her conviction in 1996 for first-degree murder, Pike was sentenced to death. Her co-defendants received lesser sentences: Tadaryl Shipp, 17 at the time, was sentenced to life without parole, while Shadolla Peterson, who testified against Pike, received probation. Pike later attempted to strangle another inmate in 2004, adding 25 years to her sentence and reinforcing concerns about her continued danger.
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