In Tennessee, the execution of 50-year-old Christa Pike, who was sentenced to death for the murder of 19-year-old Colline Slummer in 1995, is scheduled for 30 September. If the sentence is carried out, it will be the first execution of a woman in the state in over two centuries. Governor Bill Lee has refused to grant a pardon, whilst the defence is asking the US Supreme Court to halt the proceedings.
Briefly about the main points
- Christy Pike’s execution has been scheduled for 30 September in Nashville.
- Paike was sentenced to death for the murder of Colline Slammer in 1995.
- She is the only woman on death row in the state.
- Governor Bill Lee did not intervene in the execution of the sentence.
- The US Supreme Court has not yet issued a ruling on the defence’s application.
The sentence is due to be carried out in Nashville
The Tennessee Department of Corrections has announced that the procedure will take place at Riverbend Maximum Security Institution. The department has published guidelines for journalists, and the procedure is scheduled to begin at 10.00 Central Daylight Time.
According to the Associated Press, the state intends to carry out the execution by lethal injection. Pike — the only woman among those sentenced to death in Tennessee.
The murder case was heard back in the 1990s
In 1995, Pike, along with two other teenagers, lured Slemmer to a remote location in Knoxville, where the girl was beaten and killed. Pike and Slammer were taking part in the Job Corps vocational training programme.
Paike was found guilty of murder and conspiracy to murder, and was sentenced to death in 1996. Her boyfriend at the time, who was a minor at the time of the crime, was sentenced to life imprisonment; a third participant was given a suspended sentence.
The governor did not pardon Pike; the legal proceedings are ongoing
28 September Bill Lee stated that he had considered the application for a pardon and the case file, but had decided not to intervene in the enforcement of the sentence.
The defence’s application to stay the execution, filed on 25 September, was referred to the judges Brett Kavanaugh. The following day, the Supreme Court received a submission from organisations and experts on trauma and sexual violence.
In their submission, the lawyers also challenge the use of the lethal injection protocol. They cite, in particular, problems with venous access and the convicted woman’s state of health; these arguments form part of the defence’s case. As of 29 September, no public decision had been issued in the case.
The defence is asking for a more lenient sentence, whilst the victim’s family supports the death penalty
The defence lawyers are seeking to have the death penalty commuted to a prison sentence. They argue that, during the initial trial, proper consideration was not given to Pike’s age at the time of the offence, the abuse she suffered as a child, and her mental health issues.
Mother Collin Slammer She supports the enforcement of the sentence. She told the AP that the family has been living with the consequences of their daughter’s loss for more than three decades.
The Inter-American Commission on human rights stated that the legal assistance provided to Pike did not meet the heightened standards required in capital cases. The Commission recommended that the sentence be reviewed and commuted, and that the execution be stayed; its recommendation is an international recommendation, not a ruling by a US court.
