Judicial authorities in Tennessee have ordered the execution of Christa Pike, who killed a fellow college student more than 30 years ago. ABC News reports that this will be the first execution of a woman in the state in 200 years.
Pike was 18 years old at the time of the crime, which took place in 1995. She and an accomplice were convicted of murdering 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer, a fellow student. According to investigators, Pike—suspecting Slemmer of making a play for her boyfriend—lured her to a secluded spot where she and her accomplice tortured and killed the young woman. The case drew widespread attention due to the brutality of the killing, the young age of those involved, and the fact that a Satanic symbol had been carved into the victim’s body.
Pike does not deny her guilt, but her defense team and supporters argue that the death penalty is disproportionate for a crime committed by a teenager with mental illness who had suffered severe sexual abuse in childhood.
On September 28, Governor Bill Lee announced that he would not grant a request for clemency. The execution is scheduled for September 30.
If the sentence is carried out on schedule, it will be the first execution of a woman in Tennessee since 1820, the network notes. Executions of women are rare in the U.S. overall; there have been only 18 since 1976, accounting for about 1% of all executions carried out.
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