UN rights chief urges Tennessee not to repeat execution attempt

UN rights chief Volker Turk urged Tennessee not to attempt executing Christa Pike again, following her survival of two lethal injection attempts. Pike, 50, is a convicted murderer who underwent the failed second execution in Tennessee. The UN rights office highlighted multiple reasons why the death penalty should be abolished, citing the prolonged and cruel suffering Pike faced.

The case also raises unresolved fair trial questions. On Wednesday, the US Supreme Court allowed Pike to become the first woman executed in Tennessee in 200 years, but the execution attempt failed. Turk called for an end to any further attempts to execute Pike. Additionally, Turk expressed concern over the rising number of executions in the US, asserting that the death penalty has no place in any society.

Pike was convicted of killing Colleen Slemmer, 19, at a job training camp when she was 18. The killing made headlines due to the pentagram carved into Slemmer's chest. Pike's lawyers argued for clemency based on her age and mental health at the time of the crime. Since 1976, the Death Penalty Information Center reports that 18 women have been executed in the US.