Tennessee Death Row Inmate Christa Pike Seeks All-Female Execution Team Days Before Scheduled Execution

Christa Gail Pike appears remotely from Deborah K. Johnson Rehabilitation for her hearing in Knox County Criminal Court in Knoxville, Tenn., Aug. 11, 2026.USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Christa Pike, the only woman currently on Tennessee’s death row, is making an unusual request just days before her scheduled Sept. 30 execution: she wants only women involved in administering her lethal injection.

Pike, 50, has cited a history of alleged sexual abuse and trauma as the reason for the request. Her attorneys argue that having men participate in the procedure could cause additional psychological distress during her final moments.

If an all-female team cannot be arranged, Pike is reportedly seeking hanging as an alternative method.

The request comes more than three decades after Pike was convicted in the 1995 killing of 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer, a fellow Job Corps student in Knoxville.

A Crime Committed When Pike Was 18

Pike was 18 when Slemmer was killed on Jan. 12, 1995.

According to the case presented at trial, Pike, her boyfriend Tadaryl Shipp and acquaintance Shadolla Peterson took Slemmer to an isolated area near the University of Tennessee campus.

Prosecutors said Pike and Shipp attacked Slemmer there. The case involved prolonged violence, and Pike was later convicted of first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder.

She was sentenced to death on March 30, 1996, becoming one of the youngest women in the United States to receive a death sentence.

More than 30 years later, her execution is scheduled for Sept. 30, 2026.

Pike’s Attorneys Are Also Seeking Clemency

The request concerning the execution team is only one part of the effort surrounding Pike’s sentence.

Her attorneys have also asked Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee to grant clemency and reduce her sentence to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.

Their 226-page petition focuses heavily on Pike’s childhood and mental-health history.

According to the petition, Pike experienced severe neglect, physical violence and sexual abuse while growing up. Her attorneys allege she was sexually abused between the ages of 2 and 5 and raped by a 37-year-old neighbor when she was 11.

They further claim that at 17 she was sexually assaulted by an unidentified stranger after being taken into a wooded area.

Her legal team argues that this history was not adequately presented to jurors when they were deciding whether Pike should receive the death penalty.

Pike was later diagnosed with bipolar disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder, according to her attorneys.

The clemency petition does not argue that those circumstances excuse Slemmer’s killing. Instead, Pike’s lawyers contend that jurors should have been given that information when considering punishment.

Slemmer’s Mother Rejects the Request for Special Treatment

Slemmer’s mother, May Martinez, strongly opposes Pike receiving special accommodations.

Martinez has argued that Pike should not receive special treatment during the execution and accused her of attempting to manipulate the system.

Her reaction highlights the deep divide surrounding the case.

While Pike’s attorneys are asking officials to consider her history of trauma and mental illness, Slemmer’s family continues to focus on the circumstances of the 19-year-old’s killing and the decades of grief that followed.

The Original Case Remains Central to the Clemency Fight

Court records from Pike’s prosecution describe a planned confrontation that ended with Slemmer’s death.

Evidence presented in the case indicated that Pike had spoken about wanting to kill Slemmer before the group left together on the evening of Jan. 12.

Slemmer had been led away under the impression that the group was going to a video store, according to the case record.

Instead, she was taken to an isolated location.

Pike and the others later returned without her.

Pike was ultimately convicted of first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder, and the jury imposed a death sentence.

The Final Days Before Sept. 30

With the scheduled execution approaching, several separate issues now surround Pike’s case.

Her lawyers are asking Tennessee officials to reconsider the death sentence entirely through clemency. At the same time, they are seeking accommodations concerning who would participate if the execution proceeds.

The state must now deal with those requests against the backdrop of a case that has remained unresolved for Pike, Slemmer’s family and the courts for more than three decades.

Unless the sentence is halted or changed, Pike is scheduled to be executed on Sept. 30 — more than 31 years after the crime that placed her on Tennessee’s death row.