US state of Tennessee to execute woman for first time in 200 years

Christa Pike, a woman on Tennessee's death row, is scheduled to be executed by lethal injection on Wednesday, marking the state's first female execution in over two centuries. Pike was convicted of murdering her 19-year-old classmate, Colleen Slemmer, in 1995 when she herself was only 18 years old. The brutal murder, which involved carving a pentagram into Slemmer's chest and taking a piece of her skull as a memento, received significant media attention.

Pike and her boyfriend, Tadaryl Shipp, confessed to the crime, with Pike receiving the death penalty while Shipp was sentenced to life in prison with parole eligibility. A third accomplice, Shadolla Peterson, was sentenced to probation. Despite seeking clemency, the Governor Bill Lee denied Pike's request, citing her history of violence, neglect, and sexual abuse as a child.

Her lawyers highlighted her struggles with bipolar disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder, and her mother's heavy drinking during pregnancy, which may have contributed to her mental health issues. However, the Tennessee Supreme Court rejected her 11th-hour stay request, and now, Pike will be the only woman executed in Tennessee in modern US capital punishment history.