Tennessee Court Halts Execution of Christa Gail Pike Pending Review of Sentencing

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The execution of Christa Gail Pike in Tennessee was halted on Wednesday, approximately one hour before it was scheduled to begin. This decision was made by the 6th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, which is reviewing whether Pike's allegations of childhood sexual abuse and rape were adequately considered during her sentencing. Pike, now 50, was convicted alongside her boyfriend for the 1995 murder of 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer, a classmate at a job training facility in Knoxville. If carried out, Pike would have been the first woman executed in Tennessee in at least 200 years. The court's decision came after execution witnesses had gathered at the Riverbend Maximum Security Institution in Nashville. Tennessee's attorney general has appealed the stay to the U.S. Supreme Court. Witnesses and media were initially brought into the prison around 10:15 a.m. but were later sent back to a parking lot after the execution was halted. Outside the prison, over 30 supporters of Pike gathered, some wearing shirts that read "Love Heals," while police monitored the situation. The case has drawn significant attention, partly due to the nature of the crime, which included a pentagram carved on Slemmer's body, contributing to fears of Satan worship during the era of the "satanic panic" in the 1980s and 1990s. As the execution date approached, discussions about the death penalty for young offenders resurfaced. Pike acknowledges her role in the murder but her supporters argue that her age, mental health issues, and history of severe sexual abuse should be taken into account. Pike was diagnosed with bipolar disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder after the crime. In her clemency petition, she expressed remorse, stating, "I was a mentally ill 18-year-old kid... It sickens me now to think I had the ability to commit such a crime." Slemmer's mother, May Martinez, expressed her desire for the execution to proceed, stating that she has waited decades for justice. Martinez emphasized the ongoing pain of losing her daughter, who would have turned 51 in September. The murder occurred on January 12, 1995, when Pike allegedly lured Slemmer to a wooded area, where she attacked her with a box cutter and a large piece of asphalt. Pike's boyfriend, who was 17 at the time, admitted to carving the pentagram into Slemmer's body and received a life sentence with the possibility of parole. Pike was the only one sentenced to death. According to Robin M. Maher, executive director of the Death Penalty Information Center, Tennessee has not executed a woman for at least 200 years. Since 1976, only 18 women have been executed in the U.S., making up about 1% of all executions. Most recently, Missouri executed Amber McLaughlin in 2023, marking the first execution of a transgender woman in the U.S. Pike would have been the 30th person executed in the U.S. this year, following Florida's 16th execution of 2026 on Tuesday.