Pike, now 50, is scheduled to be executed today for the 1995 murder of 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer, a crime committed when Pike was just 18 years old. If the execution proceeds, she would become the first woman executed by Tennessee in more than two centuries, making the case a significant moment in the state’s history of capital punishment.
Pike was convicted in connection with Slemmer’s killing, which occurred in Knoxville in 1995. The case has remained controversial for decades, with Pike’s attorneys continuing to challenge her execution through appeals and requests for clemency. Those efforts have so far failed to stop the scheduled execution.
Her legal team has emphasized several factors from her background, including severe childhood abuse, mental-health problems and the fact that she was only 18 when the crime was committed. They have argued that her age and traumatic history should be taken into consideration when determining whether she should face the death penalty.
With her final appeals and clemency request unsuccessful so far, Pike remains scheduled for execution today. The case has drawn renewed attention because of both the circumstances surrounding the 1995 murder and the unusual historical significance of Tennessee potentially carrying out its first execution of a woman in more than 200 years.