RismadarVoice Reporters
September 29, 2026
Christa Pike, the only woman currently on death row in the US state of Tennessee, is scheduled to be executed by lethal injection on Wednesday after spending more than three decades under a death sentence.
Pike, 50, has said she is at peace as the execution approaches, although she remains nervous about the process.
If the execution proceeds, she would become the first woman executed by Tennessee in more than 200 years.
Pike was convicted of first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder over the 1995 killing of 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer, a fellow Job Corps trainee. Pike was 18 at the time.
Her lawyers have asked the US Supreme Court to halt the execution, arguing that evidence concerning severe abuse during Pike’s childhood was not presented to the jury responsible for imposing the death sentence.
They have also argued that her history of trauma and post-traumatic stress disorder could cause severe psychological distress during the execution procedure.
Tennessee authorities have opposed the request. They maintain that an earlier court found claims that the execution procedure would cause additional psychological suffering to be speculative.
Tennessee Governor Bill Lee has declined to intervene, leaving the pending Supreme Court challenge as Pike’s remaining legal avenue for a reprieve.
Her lawyers have also pointed to differences between Pike’s sentence and those imposed on two other people involved in the case.
Her then-boyfriend, Tadaryl Shipp, who was 17 at the time, received a life sentence. Shadolla Peterson, who was 18 and cooperated with authorities, received probation.
Pike’s spiritual adviser, Rev. Mikey Noechel, said she has expressed remorse over Slemmer’s death and has spent recent weeks reflecting on her life and approaching execution.
Slemmer’s mother, May Martinez, has maintained her support for the sentence and said she intends to witness the execution.
Unless the Supreme Court intervenes or another reprieve is granted, Pike is scheduled to be executed on Wednesday, in what would be a rare use of the death penalty against a woman in Tennessee.
