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.
No BS check run yet — press ⚖ to extract this story's claims and verify them against independent sources.
Christa Pike could be the first woman executed in Tennessee in more than 200 years. Her supporters say she has changed in isolation; her victim’s family wants her to die.
If the execution proceeds, Pike would be the first woman executed in Tennessee in more than 200 years.
If the execution proceeds, Pike would be the first woman put to death in Tennessee in more than 200 years.
Tennessee plans to execute Christa Pike by lethal injection on Wednesday, Sept. 30, after Gov. Bill Lee denied her clemency request Monday. Pike, now 50, was 18 when she and her boyfriend killed 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer, a fellow Knoxville Job Corps student, in 1995. Pike was convicted and sentenced to death in 1996. If carried out, the execution would be Tennessee’s first of a woman in more th