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Exact time of Christa Pike's execution revealed as she makes big last meal decision
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As Christa Pike awaits her execution in a Tennessee prison today, the exact time her sentence will be carried out has been revealed.
It has also been confirmed that she made a surprising decision on her last meal ahead of her death.
Christa Pike is set to become the first woman executed in 200 years in Tennessee
Pike is set to be executed today (September 30) and become the first woman executed in the state of Tennessee for 200 years.
Before her last chance for clemency was denied by Governor Bill Lee, Pike wrote in a letter: "I am not afraid to die. I'm only nervous about the process.”
That process will be lethal injection, which can be controversial due to the method used and the complications that can arise during the process.
Pike added that she was ‘at peace’ with the sentence regardless of what came of her late appeal for clemency.
The sentence will be carried out at 10:00am CDT at Riverbend Maximum Security Institution in Nashville.
What did Pike do?
Pike, now 50-years-old has been in prison since she was sentenced to death for the murder of ex-classmate Colleen Slemmer in 1995.
Pike and Slemmer were students at the Job Corps Center in Knoxville when Pike tortured and killed Slemmer, allegedly after Slemmer made comments about her relationship.
The murder was assisted by Pike’s boyfriend and another friend, although they did not receive the same sentence.
Who has called for Christa Pike to receive clemency?
The case has become international news, partially because of Pike being a rare woman set for execution, but also because of the particulars of her tale.
Pike alleges that she was the victim of horrific abuse as a child and young adult, and advocacy groups have called for her sentence to be commuted to life without parole.
The United Nations has also joined calls for the commutation of the sentence, as well as raising the fact that Pike was suffering from her abuse and had serious mental health problems at the time she murdered Slemmer.
Pike’s case has also drawn some strange comparisons to the case of Lindsay Clancy, who was recently on trial for the murder of her three children.
After her clemency bid was rejected, Pike’s representatives said they were ‘deeply saddened and heartbroken’ by the decision, remarking on how much Pike has changed since being in prison.
A statement read: "The 18-year-old girl suffering from severe mental illness and near-debilitating trauma no longer exists,
"Christa is a 50-year-old remorseful woman who understands her actions, receives proper treatment for her mental illness, and provides for and guides fellow incarcerated women.”
Attorney Luke Ihnen added that 'in her classic Christa way, she has spent her last days worried more about her friends, family and legal team than herself.’
Christa Pike’s shock last meal decision
Tennessee is one of a few states that still offers inmates on death row the chance to make a special selection for their last meal, within a set of rules.
However, it is reported that Pike declined to do so.
Now, all that remains is for the sentence to be carried out at 10:00am today.