Tennessee is preparing to execute the first woman in 200 years tomorrow after the governor, Bill Lee, rejected her request for clemency. In 1995, then 18-year-old Christa Pike and her boyfriend killed 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer, a classmate of theirs at the Knoxville Job Corps, a center that provided vocational training to young people from families in difficulty.
The 1995 crime
The case caused great uproar due to the brutality of the murder, the young age of those involved and the fact that a satanic symbol had been engraved on the victim’s body. The training school closed immediately after the tragedy.
Pike’s conviction and past
The following year Pike was found guilty of first-degree murder and sentenced to capital punishment, making her the youngest woman to end up on death row in United States history. Since his conviction, details have emerged about his past, marked by sexual abuse and mental health problems. A few years later she was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and post-traumatic stress syndrome.
The governor’s no to clemency
“After careful consideration of Christa Gail Pike’s request for clemency and a thorough review of the case, I affirm the sentence of the State of Tennessee and do not intend to intervene,” the governor said in a statement despite pressure from human rights groups and Amnesty International.