Tennessee Supreme Court Rejects Stay, Clearing Path for Christa Pike's Execution on Sept. 30
The Tennessee Supreme Court has denied a stay of execution for Christa Pike, the only woman on the state's death row. Pike is scheduled to be executed by lethal injection on September 30 for the 1995 murder of Colleen Slemmer. Her legal team and advocacy groups argue that her history of severe childhood sexual abuse and untreated mental illness makes the execution cruel and unusual, as the process would trigger traumatic flashbacks. The state maintains that justice requires the sentence to proceed. With the court's rejection, Pike's final hope rests on a clemency decision from Governor Bill Lee or a ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court.