Christa Pike's chilling final hours in countdown to execution before she meets ultimate punishment
Christa Pike is set to become the first woman executed in the state of Tennessee in 200 years as her death by lethal injection planned to take place in the next few hours.
Pike is scheduled to be killed by officials in Tennessee for the torture and murder of her classmate, Colleen Slemmer in 1995 after being sentenced to death one year later.
At the time, Pike was just 18 years when she killed 19-year-old Slemmer, leading to national outcry as her crimes came to light.
Throughout her incarceration, attorneys representing Pike had attempted to have her death date stopped, and most recently, filed a petition with the court ahead of her execution, and was denied.
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In a statement, Governor Bill Lee said: "After deliberate consideration of Christa Gail Pike's request for clemency, and after a thorough review of the case, I am upholding the sentence of the State of Tennessee and do not plan to intervene."
This means that Pike will be put to death as planned today (30 September) at 11:00 EDT, which is 3pm GMT.
Usually, when it comes to the death process in prison, there are a few things that happen in the hours leading up to the execution.
29 September: According to deathpenalty.org, Riverbend Maximum Security Institution – where Pike is held – will continue to be locked down and restricted to inmates as Pike is held in the prison’s Capital Punishment Unit under observation.
12am: There, she would have eaten her final meal by midnight, which she reportedly refused.
3am: After her final meal, Pike would then have any personal call or visit stopped 12 hours prior to the scheduled execution, but she is able to speak with her lawyer when needed.
8am: At 8am local time, witnesses of the execution are to be briefed, per the outlet, and the pentobarbital syringes should be prepared for injection.
8:30am: Just half an hour later, media witnesses will arrive to the scene as members of Slemmer’s family enter the building by 9:15am.
9:45am: From there, both groups are to be taken into separate witness rooms by 9:45am, where Pike will be removed from her holding cell and strapped to a gurney as she’s moved to the execution chamber.
Execution time: Once in the chamber, a primary and backup IV will be inserted into Pike via vein, and she’ll also be hooked up to heart-monitoring equipment.
Once the prison wardens have confirmed that no stay of death or reprieve has been granted to Pike, she will then be offered the chance to make her final statement.
If she chooses to utter her last words, give grams of pentobarbital will be administered, and for five minutes, a waiting period will begin as the drugs take effect.
Afterwards, a doctor will confirm whether Pike has died, and if so, will declare her time of death.
If she survives, then a second dose can be administered.
The process is very methodical, and has happened a number of times to inmates who are executed in the state of Tennessee.
But that doesn’t mean it always goes to plan, which is something Pike has revealed in the run up to her own death.
In a letter written to NBC News, Pike said that she was not afraid to die and at peace.
"Whether my clemency is granted or not, I am at peace," she wrote. "I'm not afraid to die."
Pike then said the only thing she is 'nervous' about is undergoing the lethal injection.
Pike said something similar about her fears of undergoing the procedure in the YouTube documentary Dead Woman Walking: Pike Vs Tennessee, because of a previous failed attempt.
"I’m so scared that what just happened to Tony Carruthers will happen to me," she said, referencing the May 2026 case, where Carruthers was granted a one-year reprieve after staff were unsuccessful in locating an intravenous line to inject the drugs into.
However, such a case is rare to occur.
Britt Jones