Tennessee's governor rejected clemency for death-row inmate Christa Pike on September 29, 2026, clearing the way for her execution. If carried out, Pike would become the first woman executed in Tennessee in over 200 years, despite supporters arguing she has reformed during decades in isolation.
Tennessee is preparing to execute Christa Pike, 50, via lethal injection—the state's first execution of a woman in two centuries. Pike was convicted in 1995 of killing a classmate in Knoxville; her lawyers have petitioned the supreme court for a stay after the governor denied clemency on September 29.
Christa Pike, 50, convicted of killing a classmate in Knoxville in 1995 at age 18, is set to become the first woman executed in Tennessee in 200 years after Governor Lee denied clemency on September 28, 2026. Her lawyers have documented evidence of childhood sexual and physical abuse and have petitioned the state supreme court for a stay.
Christa Pike, 49, is scheduled for execution on September 30, 2026, for the 1995 murder of Colleen Slemmer committed when Pike was 18. If carried out, Pike will become the first woman executed in Tennessee in over 150 years; advocates cite her severe untreated mental illness at the time of the crime.