Woman on death row makes plea as she's set to be first female executed by US state in 200 years

As the date of her scheduled execution looms closer, Christa Gail Pike's legal team are fighting back against the 'torturous' fate she awaits.

The 50-year-old is the only woman on death row in Tennessee and she is set to become the first female to be put to death in the state in around 200 years.

She was sentenced to death in 1996 after she brutally murdered her classmate Colleen Slemmer - but her attorneys fear that officials will 'botch' her execution in wake of what happened to triple-murderer Tony Carruthers.

It was announced last October that the Tennessee Supreme Court had set a date to execute Pike, who has spent the last three decades behind bars.

She is set to face the ultimate punishment on 30 September, 2026, due to the grisly crime she committed when she was 18-years-old and enrolled in a Job Corps programme.

Believing that Slemmer was trying to steal her boyfriend, 17-year-old Tadaryl Shipp, Pike hatched a plan with him and their pal Shadolla Peterson, 18.

Colleen Slemmer was killed by her classmates in Knoxville, Tennessee (WBIR10)

The trio lured the teenager into some woodland in Knoxville, Tennessee, where she was then savagely beaten, stabbed, and bludgeoned. A pentagram was also chillingly carved into her forehead and chest.

Prosecutors said that Pike kept a piece of her victim's skull as a 'souvenir' from the murder, which she is said to have shown to fellow pupils.

Court records state that the killer also bragged about how Slemmer had 'begged' for her life, while she 'danced in a circle, smiling and singing' while informing a student about what she had done.

Pike confessed to torturing and killing the young woman and was found guilty of first-degree murder. When she was sentenced to death in 1996, she became the youngest person on death row at the age of 20.

Shipp received a life sentence for Slemmer's murder as he was not eligible for the death penalty due to his age, while Peterson received probation after testifying against Pike.

In 2003, another 25 years was added onto Pike's sentence after she was found guilty of the attempted murder of a fellow inmate whom she had tried to strangle with a shoestring two years prior.

Pike is due to be executed in September this year (Tennessee Department of Corrections)

The lawyers representing Pike - including Stephen Ferrell and Luke Ihnen - released a statement in wake of her execution date being set, urging the state to 'commute' her sentence.

Citing her 'youth and severe mental illness at the time of the crime', it also went on to say: "Christa’s childhood was fraught with years of physical and sexual abuse and neglect. With time and treatment for bipolar and post-traumatic stress disorders, which were not diagnosed until years later, Christa has become a thoughtful woman with deep remorse for her crime."

Pike's attorneys are now once again calling on authorities in Tennessee to reconsider - while suggesting the state is incapable of of carrying out her execution via lethal injection.

They have argued that the failed attempt to execute Tony Carruthers, 57, in May this year is evidence of this. He's been granted a one-year reprieve after the medical team were unable to find a suitable second vein to establish a backup IV line, which is required under lethal injection execution protocol.

The incident involving Tony Carruthers has caused further concern among Pike's legal team (Tennessee Department of Corrections)

The Tennessee Department of Correction (TDOC) said the 'procedure was unsuccessful' and therefore the 'execution was then called off'.

Maria DeLiberato, an American Civil Liberties Union lawyer representing Carruthers, said she watched him 'wincing and groaning', and described the situation as 'horrible' to watch, as per AP.

Lethal injection is the primary execution method in the state and a drug called pentobarbital is administered to death row inmates.

In wake of what happened to Carruthers, Pike's legal team warned the state that similar circumstances could unfold when she is put to death in September.

They explained that she has complex medical issues, including a blood-clotting condition known as thrombocytopenia, bipolar disorder, PTSD and has 'small veins that make insertion of a needle difficult'.

Pike's lawyers say she faces a 'torturous execution'

Ferrell said the size of her veins will 'make the insertion of a needle difficult, even for the most trained medical professionals'.

"The difficulty establishing IV lines is a known complication that has caused prolonged and botched executions for years," he added.

"Since the state released the 2025 execution protocol, defence counsel, medical experts, and advocates have warned that the lack of clarity on any number of issues would result in a torturous execution."

Ihnen also reportedly said: "Tony Carruthers’ botched execution sheds light on what we already knew and have warned the State of Tennessee about for more than a year: TDOC lacks the qualified and trained medical personnel required to ensure prisoners do not face unnecessary pain and suffering as they are executed. Tennessee must confront this harsh reality or we will face another torturous execution."

Pike's lawyers want the Tennessee Supreme Court to assign a 'special master' to investigate their concerns. This title refers to a person employed by a court when it is accused of failing to carry out its duties, who then compiles evidence impartially.