Tennessee set to execute a woman for the first time in 200 years

Tennessee is set to execute Christa Pike, who was 18 when she murdered her classmate in 1995, this Wednesday. The governor refused to pardon her, and her lawyers have appealed to the Supreme Court to halt the execution. If carried out, it will be the first execution of a woman in Tennessee in 200 years.

Tennessee is set to execute Christa Pike, who was 18 when she murdered her classmate, Colleen Slemmer, in 1995, this Wednesday. Governor Bill Lee announced on Monday that he would not grant clemency, and her lawyers have appealed to the Supreme Court to halt the execution. Pike and her then-boyfriend were convicted of murdering 19-year-old Slemmer after luring her to a secluded spot, torturing and killing her. The prosecution argued that Pike cut Slemmer with a razor knife and attacked her with asphalt. Pike's boyfriend, who admitted to carving a pentagram into her body, was sentenced to life in prison. Pike's lawyers argue that the death penalty is inappropriate for a crime committed at that age, by a girl with untreated mental illness, after a childhood of sexual abuse and neglect. Pike has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder. The victim's mother, May Martinez, wants the execution to proceed as scheduled. If carried out, it will be the first execution of a woman in Tennessee since 1820.