Christa Pike, 50, is asking Tennessee Governor Bill Lee for clemency ahead of her scheduled September 30 execution. Pike was convicted in 1996 of first-degree murder and conspiracy in the 1995 killing of 19-year-old Job Corps classmate Colleen Slemmer in Knoxville. She was sentenced to death at age 20 and has remained on death row for roughly three decades, during which several execution dates were delayed. Her attorneys are now asking the governor to commute her sentence to life in prison without the possibility of parole, arguing that such a decision would still hold her accountable for the rest of her life. If the execution proceeds, Pike would become the first woman executed in Tennessee since 1819.

Pike’s legal team says her troubled childhood, history of abuse, and untreated mental-health problems should be considered as mitigating factors, while emphasizing that those circumstances do not excuse the crime. Attorney Kelly Gleason has said Pike now feels deep remorse and has urged Governor Lee to show mercy. Pike’s co-defendant, Tadaryl Shipp, was also convicted of first-degree murder and received a life sentence with parole eligibility, though parole was denied in 2025. Another participant, Shadolla Peterson, testified for prosecutors and received probation after pleading guilty to being an accessory after the fact. Pike may choose between lethal injection and the electric chair if the execution goes forward.