Tennessee Governor Denies Clemency for Christa Pike Ahead of Scheduled Execution

Tennessee Governor Bill Lee has denied a clemency request from death row inmate Christa Pike, who is scheduled to be executed by lethal injection on Wednesday, September 30, 2026. If the execution proceeds, Pike would be the first woman to be executed in Tennessee in over 200 years. Pike, now 50, was 18 when she and her then-boyfriend beat, tortured, and murdered Colleen Slemmer, a 19-year-old they met at a job training camp for troubled teens. Her attorneys have filed a petition with the US Supreme Court seeking a last-minute reprieve. Governor Lee stated, "After deliberate consideration of Christa Gail Pike's request for clemency, and after a thorough review of the case, I am upholding the sentence of the State of Tennessee and do not plan to intervene." Pike's legal team had requested that her death sentence be commuted to life in prison. They argued that moving ahead with her execution would place Tennessee "on singular footing" as she would be the first person executed in the modern death penalty era who was a teenager at the time of the offense. Attorneys Stephen Ferrell, Kelly Gleason, and Randy Spivey expressed concerns about Tennessee's execution protocol, stating, "With this decision, the State of Tennessee is ignoring what both science and our legal system have decided: an 18-year-old brain is not an adult brain, and 18 is too young to face execution." The murder of Colleen Slemmer in 1995 garnered significant media attention, particularly due to the circumstances surrounding her death. Pike was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to death, while her then-boyfriend, Tadaryl Shipp, received a life sentence. Pike was the youngest person on death row at the time of her incarceration. Colleen's mother has expressed a desire for Pike's execution to proceed. Pike's defense team has highlighted her history of childhood trauma and mental illness, arguing that if she were tried today, she would not receive a death sentence. They stated, "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."