US4 min(s) read
Published 15:55 12 Jun 2026 GMT
The only woman on Tennessee’s death row is challenging the state’s execution protocol.
In January, Christa Gail Pike, who was convicted of a brutal 1995 murder, filed a lawsuit against Tennessee officials arguing that the state’s planned use of lethal injection violates her constitutional rights and religious beliefs.
Pike is suing Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti, Tennessee Department of Correction Commissioner Frank Strada, and the wardens of Riverbend Maximum Security Prison and Debra K. Johnson Rehabilitation Center.
Pike was convicted in 1996 alongside her boyfriend, Tiddell Shipp, and friend Shadolla Peterson for the murder of 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer in a case that became known locally as the "Job Corps Murder".
Both Pike and Slemmer were participants in a Knoxville job-training program for troubled teens. Prosecutors argued that Pike believed Slemmer was trying to steal her boyfriend.
According to court filings and trial testimony, Pike struck Slemmer with a piece of asphalt, dragged her into the woods, tortured her, and slit her throat with a box cutter.
Pike was also accused of keeping a piece of Slemmer’s skull as a souvenir after the killing.
She was sentenced to death and remains on death row nearly three decades later.
At the center of Pike’s lawsuit is Tennessee’s revised lethal injection protocol, which took effect in December 2024.
The state now uses a single drug, pentobarbital, to induce respiratory and cardiac arrest rather than the three-drug cocktail previously used between 2018 and 2020, per Nashville Banner.
The prisoner argues the protocol is unconstitutional and particularly dangerous because of what the lawsuit describes as her "unique medical conditions".
The filing claims lethal injection can trigger flash pulmonary edema, a condition that may create the sensation of drowning.
Per the document, Pike suffers from thrombocytopenia, a blood disorder, along with bipolar disorder, PTSD, and veins that make needle insertion difficult.
Her attorneys argue that the use of pentobarbital could cause an especially severe reaction.
The lawsuit alleges: "This is death by drowning on one's own blood," and that the execution method is "very likely to result in unnecessary and superadded pain and suffering, terror, and disgrace in violation of the United States Constitution and the Tennessee Constitution."
The death row inmate's attorneys also slammed what they describe as a lack of transparency surrounding the protocol.
The lawsuit claims the state's protocol is "plagued with the same issues that have marked botched executions for decades: secrecy, intentional omission, inattention to detail, and untrained and unlicensed prison personnel attempting to fill a medical role."
The filing further argues that Tennessee should have a plan in place and that life-saving medical procedures should be administered if death has not occurred within five minutes.
The challenge comes less than a year after Tennessee executed Byron Black in August 2025. Black, who had an implanted defibrillator, also challenged the state's protocol before his execution.
According to witnesses, Black reportedly groaned: "Oh, it's hurting so bad."
His attorney later claimed he had been "tortured" during the execution.
Pike's lawsuit also raises objections based on her faith.
Per the filing, the inmate is a practicing Buddhist, and an alternative-method requirement "violates her rights to conscience and/or to the free exercise of religion under the First Amendment."
The suit also states that proposing another method of execution conflicts with her "sincerely held religious beliefs against participating in any process leading to her own death."
In addition to this, the film claims restrictions on spiritual advisers during executions interfere with her ability to practice her religion.
As Pike's legal challenge moves through the courts, Slemmer's family has continued to call for the sentence to be carried out.
Her mother, May Martinez, has repeatedly said she wants justice for her daughter and hopes that no other parent experiences the pain her family has endured.
If Tennessee proceeds with the execution on September 30, Pike will become the first woman executed by the state since 1820, marking the first such execution in Tennessee in more than two centuries.
4 min(s) read
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us5 min(s) read
Published 11:42 22 Apr 2026 GMT
Christa Gail Pike is set to become the first woman to be executed in the US in over two centuries.
The felon is the only woman on death row in Tennessee, after being convicted of a murder so gruesome that it still sends chills down the spines of those familiar with the case.
Pike was sentenced to death after she was found guilty of killing 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer on January 12, 1995, when she was just 18.
The horrific murder took place in a wooded area near the University of Tennessee’s agricultural campus, as the teenagers were part of the Knoxville Job Corps program.
Pike had become jealous of her boyfriend at the time, 17-year-old Tadaryl Shipp, as she thought Slemmer was interested in him.
As a result, she would murder her classmate with a box cutter, a cleaver, and a piece of asphalt in an extremely disturbing crime.
Despite facing death in less than six months, Pike filed a lawsuit in the Davidson County Chancery Court, challenging the state's lethal injection protocol.
Her legal team has claimed that the method could cause excessive pain and violate her constitutional rights, while also arguing that her medical condition, thrombocytosis (a blood-clotting condition), could lead to complications.
They also add that her Buddhist beliefs prevent her from choosing electrocution as an alternative, though she pushed for this method back in 2002 before changing her mind.
Tennessee's new execution protocol relies on pentobarbital, which induces respiratory and cardiac arrest, instead of relying on the former three-drug cocktail.
Pike has argued that the state's limitation on clergy, which excludes her Buddhist spiritual advisor, limits her “sincerely held religious belief of Buddhism,” and violates her First Amendment rights as it “burdens” her right to free exercise of religion.
The counsel for Pike explained the three reasons behind her lawsuit to the Nashville Banner, saying: “First, given Christa’s unique medical conditions, we have serious reservations about the State of Tennessee’s ability to prevent a torturous execution.
"Second, the State’s protocol fails to make any contingency plans for when things go wrong.
"Finally, requiring a prisoner to select electrocution to avoid being isolated in the final weeks of their life is particularly cruel and arbitrary — especially for a prisoner like Christa, who was forced to live in solitary confinement for over 25 years and suffers from severe mental illness.”
Pike is set to be executed on September 30, 2026, becoming the only person executed in the state for a crime committed at age 18, 19, or 20 in the modern death penalty era.
The suit also details that Pike suffers from several conditions, including: "Bipolar disorder, PTSD, hyperlipidemia, and 'small veins that make insertion of a needle difficult'."
They claim that due to her conditions, "there is a substantial risk that [Pike] will experience unnecessary superadded pain and suffering, terror, and disgrace."
Court records reveal that Pike killed Slemmer after suspecting that she had developed feelings for her boyfriend, using a box cutter to cut her, before striking the teen with a cleaver and crushing her skull with a piece of asphalt.
She wasn't alone, as Pike was joined by her boyfriend, Shipp, and her friend, 18-year-old Shadolla Peterson, in carrying out the evil act.
A pentagram was also carved into Slemmer's chest, as Pike and boyfriend Shipp had developed an interest in the occult and devil worship.
Pike even kept a piece of Slemmer's skull, showing it off around school before the three were arrested in just 36 hours.
According to CBS News, a groundskeeper found Slemmer's body and said that she was "so badly beaten that he had first mistaken [her body] for the corpse of an animal."
Pike admitted that she continued to be violent even when Slemmer "begged" her to stop.
A University of Tennessee police officer testified that Pike returned to the scene after the body was found and "seemed amused", noting that "she was giggling," according to a report from USA Today.
Despite their involvement in the crime, Shipp was handed a life sentence, while Peterson was given probation for testifying against Pike and Shipp.
Pike was the only one who was capitally charged, with her legal team continuing to argue that her age at the time, history of abuse, and mental health conditions should exempt her from execution.
"Christa’s childhood was fraught with years of physical and sexual abuse and neglect," her defense team said.
"With time and treatment, she has become a thoughtful woman with deep remorse for her crime."
Pike even apologised in a letter, saying: "I was a mentally ill 18 yr. old kid. It took me numerous years to even realize the gravity of what I'd done. Even more to accept how many lives I effected [sic].
"I took the life of someone's child, sister, friend. It sickens me now to think that someone as loving and compassionate as myself had the ability to commit such a crime."
Her team claims that if she were tried today, she would not be sentenced to death.
us3 min(s) read
Published 10:21 22 Jan 2026 GMT
The only woman on death row in the state of Tennessee, Christa Gail Pike, is currently suing the state over the method of her upcoming execution.
Pike, convicted of a 1995 murder, alleges that the lethal injection violates her rights and religious beliefs.
In 1996, Pike was among three people convicted of the murder of Colleen Slemmer in an incident that became known locally as the ‘Jobs Corps Murder’.
Pike and her boyfriend Tiddell Shipp, as well as friend Shadolla Peterson, faced prosecution together.
Pike was convicted of smashing Slemmer’s head with a block of asphalt and accused of keeping a piece of the dead girl’s skull as a souvenir of the murder.
She was sentenced to death for her crimes, but her sentence has yet to be carried out and she remains on death row, from where she has now brought a lawsuit against the State of Tennessee.
The date for her execution was recently set for September 30.
She would become the first woman executed in Tennessee for over 200 years.
Pike's suit, filed on January 8, is against Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti, the Commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Correction Frank Strada, and the wardens of Riverbend Maximum Security Prison and Debra K. Johnson Rehabilitation Center.
Pike alleges that the method of execution used in the state, lethal injection, can bring on what is known as a flash pulmonary edema, which can cause a drowning sensation.
She argues that because of a ‘severe medical condition’ using this method will ‘very likely produce an even more severe pattern of bloody froth in the lungs.’
The suit alleges: “This is death by drowning on one’s own blood.”
The suit also claims that being unresponsive is not the same as being unconscious, and that the injection can cause extreme pain, as well as terror.
Pike’s suit claims that this method is ‘very likely to result in unnecessary and superadded pain and suffering, terror, and disgrace in violation of the United States Constitution and the Tennessee Constitution.’
She claims to have ‘unique medical conditions’ and the lack of a contingency plan for botched execution make her proposed killing unconstitutional.
The legal documents also claim that ‘any alternative method pleading requirement violates the Due Process Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment’ as it ‘violates her rights to conscience and/or to the free exercise of religion under the First Amendment.’
This is because Pike is a practising Buddhist and - the suit claims - an ‘alternative method violates her sincerely held religious beliefs against participating in any process leading to her own death.’
In the lawsuit, she asks for the method of execution to be declared unconstitutional and a permanent injunction put in place on the use of lethal injection.
She also asks for a contingency plan in the result of an execution going wrong, as well as for life-saving medical procedures to be brought in if death has not occurred after five minutes.
She argues against a 14 day isolation period, as well as for a temporary injuction being put in place to stop her execution until the resolution of two other cases from 2018 and 2019 that she has asked for equal protection of the laws and orders over.
As for Slemmer’s family, they continue to be outspoken for justice.
Her mother May Martinez has frequently told reporters that she wants to see justice for her daughter, and her hopes that no parent has to endure what she has endured over the years.
If executed on September 30th, Pike would become the first woman killed by the state of Tennessee in over 200 years.
us3 min(s) read
Published 09:52 24 Dec 2025 GMT
Tennessee is preparing to carry out its first execution of a woman in more than two centuries after the state Supreme Court scheduled the execution of Christa Gail Pike, the only woman currently on Tennessee’s death row.
According to court filings dated September 30, Pike, now 49, is set to be executed on September 30, 2026.
If the sentence is carried out, she would become the first woman executed in Tennessee since 1820 and just the fourth woman executed by the state in its history.
Records from the Death Penalty Information Center show that the last woman executed in Tennessee was Martin Eve, who was hanged in 1820 for her role as an accessory to murder.
Pike was convicted for the killing of 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer in January 1995, a crime that remains one of the most notorious in the state’s history.
At the time, Pike was 18 and enrolled in the Knoxville Job Corps, a federal job training program.
Prosecutors said Pike became consumed by jealousy after beginning a relationship with fellow student Tadaryl Shipp, believing Slemmer was romantically interested in him.
On January 12, 1995, Pike lured Slemmer to a wooded area near the University of Tennessee’s agricultural campus.
Court records detail an exceptionally violent attack in which Pike used a box cutter and a meat cleaver, carved a pentagram into Slemmer’s body, and ultimately crushed her skull with a piece of asphalt.
Prosecutors also said Pike later kept part of the victim’s skull as a trophy.
In 1996, Pike was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to death.
Shipp received a life sentence with the possibility of parole, while a third accomplice testified against Pike and was granted probation.
Pike’s violent behavior continued behind bars.
In 2004, she was convicted of attempting to strangle another inmate, resulting in an additional 25-year sentence added to her existing punishment, according to the Nashville Banner.
For nearly three decades, Pike’s legal team has pursued appeals, arguing that her execution would be unconstitutional due to her mental health history and the abuse she suffered as a child.
Her attorneys say she endured years of physical and sexual abuse and neglect and was not properly diagnosed with bipolar disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder until years after her conviction.
In a statement to USA TODAY, Pike’s legal team said that with treatment and time, she has shown remorse and personal growth, stating: "Christa’s childhood was fraught with years of physical and sexual abuse and neglect … With time and treatment for bipolar and post-traumatic stress disorders, which were not diagnosed until years later, Christa has become a thoughtful woman with deep remorse for her crime."
Tennessee resumed executions after a multi-year pause to review lethal injection procedures, carrying out its most recent execution in 2025.
Pike’s scheduled execution has already reignited debate, with supporters emphasizing the brutality of the crime and opponents calling for clemency based on her mental health and traumatic upbringing.
Unless her remaining appeals are successful, Pike is set to become a grim historical milestone for Tennessee more than 200 years after the state last executed a woman.
us4 min(s) read
Published 16:29 30 Mar 2026 GMT
A US state is set to execute its first woman in over 200 years within the next six months.
Christa Gail Pike, the only woman on Tennessee’s death row, was convicted of a murder so violent it has continued to shock the state for decades.
Pike was just 18 when she brutally killed 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer on January 12, 1995, after luring her to a wooded area near the University of Tennessee’s agricultural campus.
The two were part of the Knoxville Job Corps program, where Pike had become jealous over her boyfriend, 17-year-old Tadaryl Shipp, believing Slemmer was interested in him.
According to court records, Pike cut Slemmer with a box cutter, struck her with a cleaver, and crushed her skull with a piece of asphalt.
A pentagram was carved into Slemmer’s chest.
A groundskeeper later discovered her body and recalled that the teen victim was "so badly beaten that he had first mistaken [her body] for the corpse of an animal," per CBS News.
After the gruesome murder, Pike collected a fragment of Slemmer’s skull, showing it off to classmates and bragging about the killing. She admitted to continuing the violence even when Slemmer "begged" her to stop.
A University of Tennessee police officer testified that Pike even returned to the scene after the body was found and "seemed amused," adding: "She was giggling," USA Today reported.
Pike, who just turned 50 on March 10, was convicted of first-degree murder in 1996 and sentenced to death. She is set to be executed by lethal injection about six months from now, on September 30.
Meanwhile, her boyfriend received life with the possibility of parole, and another accomplice was given probation.
Her case has moved through decades of appeals, with her legal team arguing that her age at the time, history of abuse, and mental health conditions should exempt her from execution.
"Christa’s childhood was fraught with years of physical and sexual abuse and neglect," her defense team stated. "With time and treatment, she has become a thoughtful woman with deep remorse for her crime."
Pike herself has expressed regret in a letter, writing: "I was a mentally ill 18 yr. old kid. It took me numerous years to even realize the gravity of what I'd done. Even more to accept how many lives I effected [sic].
"I took the life of someone's child, sister, friend. It sickens me now to think that someone as loving and compassionate as myself had the ability to commit such a crime."
Her attorneys also claim that if she were tried today, she would not receive the death penalty.
In January, Pike’s legal team filed a lawsuit challenging Tennessee’s lethal injection method.
They contended it could cause excessive pain and violate her constitutional rights.
They also argued that her medical condition, thrombocytosis, could lead to complications and that her Buddhist beliefs stop her from choosing electrocution as an alternative.
In addition to this, her lawyers also raised concerns about the state’s new execution protocol, citing previous cases where inmates appeared to suffer during lethal injections.
However, the state has pushed back strongly. In a filing, officials stated that "the Eighth Amendment does not guarantee a prisoner a painless death" and that "some risk of pain is inherent in any method of execution - no matter how humane."
Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti also added: "Pike has offered nothing but speculation that the well-established, constitutional lethal injection method poses any unique risk in her case...We wish Pike’s commitment to the sanctity of life had arrived in time to save Colleen Slemmer."
The case continues to spark strong reactions from both sides. Supporters of Pike point to her traumatic childhood and mental illness, while others, including Slemmer’s family, have long called for justice to be carried out.
The late victim's mother, May Martinez, has spent years fighting for closure. "My heart breaks every single day because I keep reliving it and reliving it, and I can't no more, and I want this to happen before I die," she said.
"There's not a day [that] goes by that I don't think about Colleen or how she died and how rough it was," Martinez added. "I just want Christa down so I can end it, relieve my daughter, so she finally can be resting."
us2 min(s) read
Published 12:57 05 Jan 2026 GMT
Christa Gail Pike has spent nearly 30 years behind bars since being sent to death row in Tennessee for the murder of her classmate.
Pike was just 20 when a jury convicted her of torturing and killing Colleen Slemmer in a remote woodland near Knoxville in 1995.
Now, Tennessee has set Pike’s execution date for September 30, 2026, making her the first woman to be executed in the state in over 200 years and only the 19th woman executed in the United States since 1976.
The brutal nature of the crime shocked the community. Slemmer, then 19, was beaten, stabbed, bludgeoned and had a pentagram carved into her chest.
A groundskeeper first thought the remains were those of an animal. Pike’s case has drawn fresh attention because of her arguments against execution decades after the crime.
Pike has spoken out about her sentence and accepts that she “deserves” to be in prison for life.
“I know I don't deserve to be out walking around with everybody else in normal society. I did something horrible that is unacceptable and I realize that,” she said from her prison cell in a WEtv documentary. However Pike also says she does not “deserve” to die for what she calls “the action of three individuals.” She has repeated, “I'm only one person.”
Her comments highlight that others were involved in the crime. Pike’s then-boyfriend, Tadaryl Shipp, was convicted of first-degree murder for his role but avoided the death penalty because he was 17 at the time.
He received a life sentence and will be eligible for parole in November. Another accomplice, Shadolla Peterson, claimed she only watched and later testified against Pike. Peterson was sentenced to probation.
Attorneys for Pike have argued that her execution date should be delayed indefinitely and that she should instead serve life in prison without the possibility of parole. They contend that if Pike were tried now, a jury would likely not support the death penalty for someone who was 18 at the time of the offence.
Her legal team has also raised Pike’s troubled childhood, stating her early years included “years of physical and sexual abuse and neglect,” and that this background was not heard by the court in 1996.
The debate over Pike’s fate raises complex questions about sentencing for young offenders and how past cases are viewed through modern legal standards.
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