Tennessee's planned execution of Christa Pike halted pending appeals court review
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Pike, now 50, was convicted for a murder she committed at age 18. Her case has renewed debate over the death penalty for young offenders, with supporters arguing Tennessee should consider Pike's age at the time, mental illness and a history of severe sexual abuse.
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Christa Pike is shown on Jan. 12, 2023, in this photo provided by the Tennessee Department of Correction. (Tennessee Department of Correction)
Tennessee's execution of Christa Gail Pike for a murder she committed at age 18 was halted on Wednesday about an hour before it was set to begin, as a federal appeals court sought to review whether her allegations of childhood sexual abuse and rape were fully considered at her sentencing.
This would have been the state's first execution of a woman in at least 200 years.
Pike, now 50, and her boyfriend were convicted of stabbing and beating 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer, their classmate at a job training facility, in Knoxville in 1995.
The case garnered widespread attention at the time in part because a pentagram that was carved on Slemmer's body and other elements of the crime stoked fears of Satan worship during the "satanic panic" of the 1980s and 1990s.
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