Tennessee's Execution of Christa Pike

Question

Christa Pike is the only woman on Tennessee's execution board if this goes through on Sep, 30th 2026 she will be the first woman killed in Tennessee for the first time in over 200 years and only person who will be executed for a crime committed at 18,19, or 20. When Christa was 18 her and two other friends murdered Colleen Slemmer who Christa had met in the Knoxville job corp and felt that she was trying to take Christa boyfriend at the time. Christa was the only one charged capitally, her boyfriend who was 17 at the time of this was charged with life in prison but could be eligible for parole in Nov. of 2025, Shadolla Peterson the third person involved in this case who was 19 at the time of this testified against Pike and her boyfriend and received probation

People think this isn't fair since she committed the crime when she was 18 and grew up with a lot of childhood trauma from being exposed to alcohol in utero, to constant abuse and rape as she was growing up. She was born into to poverty and grew up crawling through dog poop all over the house as court records show. She has been dependent on alcohol and weed since 12 and has attempted suicide multiple times as a child.

Answer 1

A CBS News article that cover's the topic cites Christa Pike's response in opposition to the state's motion to set an execution date, a 272 page document provided by the Supreme Court of Tennessee. The same document is cited in the article you linked. The document confirms, "Christa Pike, the youngest woman sentenced to death in the United States post-Furman, is currently facing the risk of imminent execution in the state of Tennessee." and that, "she will be the first woman Tennessee executes in over 200 years." The document also confirms the other details you mentioned like Christa's rough upbringing and attempts at suicide, but highlights her families relationship with alcohol and the impact it had on her far more than her own. However, no source that I was able to find confirmed that she had a dependency on alcohol and marijuana by age twelve.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/tennessee-christa-gail-pike-execution-woman-death-row/

https://www.tncourts.gov/sites/default/files/docs/response_-_to_motion_1.pdf

Comments

This was a great fact check. I appreciated how you supported your statements with credible sources, such as CBS News. I also couldn't find anything about her spiral into drug abuse at age twelve, so an excellent job further researching that claim.

Answer 2

Yes, according to Death Penalty Information Center, the Tennessee Supreme Court set a date for Christa Pike's execution on September 30, 2026. As of now, she will be the first woman to be executed in over 200 years. https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/tennessees-execution-of-christa-pike-would-make-her-the-first-woman-to-be-executed-in-the-state-in-over-200-years

According to the Tennessee Department of Correction, Pike was sentenced in 1996 for the murder of Collen Slemmer in 1995. Slemmer had been a fellow Jobs Corps worker with Pike in Knoxville.  In 2001 while carrying out her sentence in Debra K. Johnson Rehabilitation Center,  Pike was convicted of attempted first degree murder after assaulting inmate Patricia Jones.  https://www.tn.gov/correction/statistics/death-row-facts/women-on-death-row.html

Comments

It's best to find sources beyond what the OP has used. Glad you sought out the tn.gov one as well. Thanks!

Answer 3

According to the Death Penalty Information Center, the Tennessee supreme court will decide an execution date for Christa Pike on September 30th, 2026. I find it fascinating that Ms. Pike will be the first person executed in Tennessee in 200 years, especially when she was a 18, 19, 20 year old when the event occurred. In the article by Death Penalty Information, they talk about Ms Pike's childhood, mentioning how she was raped multiple times, and that she was dependent on alcohol and marijuana by age 12. I find it extremely unfair that Ms. Pike is being executed because I am guessing that there have been more brutal crimes committed by people much older than Ms. Pike. It is obvious that she was not given the treatment she deserved as a young child that led to this tragic event. I don't think that Ms. Pike should be released from prison by any means but I do think that she should just be given life in prison like her accomplice Tadaryl Shipp who was her boyfriend at the time of the murder. I think that the court should think a lot harder about their decision on this case.

Death Penalty Information Center URL: https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/tennessees-execution-of-christa-pike-would-make-her-the-first-woman-to-be-executed-in-the-state-in-over-200-years