Christa Pike is scheduled to be executed by lethal injection Sept. 30 for murdering Colleen Slemmer in 1995, when Pike was 18. Her lawyers ask Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee to commute the sentence to life without parole; the state Supreme Court declined to stay the execution Sept. 23.
If carried out, Pike would be Tennessee's first woman executed since 1819. Her lawyers are also seeking relief from the U.S. Supreme Court.
Women's-rights organizations and sexual-abuse experts argue the execution could make Pike relive her assaults. Tennessee's attorney general's office says psychological harm would not make the execution unconstitutional; a special master found Pike had not shown needless suffering and said officials had taken steps to reduce triggers, including arranging female staff when possible. Slemmer's mother supports the execution. Pike says in the documentary she feels remorse.
