For the first time in over 200 years: A US state to execute a woman

Christa Pike, 50, is scheduled to be executed in Tennessee on Wednesday, 31 years after murdering a 19-year-old girl. If carried out, she would be the first woman executed in the state in over 200 years. The victim's mother supports the execution, while Pike's lawyers argue childhood abuse.

Christa Pike, 50, is scheduled to be executed on Wednesday, September 26, 2026, in the state of Tennessee, 31 years after she brutally murdered 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer. If the execution proceeds, Pike will be the first woman executed in Tennessee in over 200 years, and among the few women executed in the US since the 1970s. Pike was 18 when she, along with her then-boyfriend Tadaryl Shipp, attacked, tortured, and killed Slemmer. Her body was found with a pentagram, a satanic cult symbol, carved into her chest. The victim's mother, May Martinez, strongly supports the execution, stating she wants Pike to suffer as her daughter did. The organization 'Coalition for Justice' raised funds to help Martinez attend the execution. Conversely, Pike's lawyers filed a clemency petition, citing severe sexual abuse, abandonment, and neglect in her childhood, as well as late diagnoses of bipolar disorder and PTSD. The Tennessee Supreme Court rejected her request for commutation last year. Tennessee Governor Bill Lee has not yet granted clemency in a death penalty case.