Christa Pike is set to be executed in Tennessee on Sept. 30 for Colleen Slemmer's 1995 murder; the state Supreme Court denied her a stay on Sept. 23. Her lawyers and advocates argue her childhood rapes and PTSD could make her execution unconstitutionally cruel.
Women's advocacy groups and sexual-abuse experts argue that restraints and the execution process could trigger flashbacks to Pike's repeated childhood rapes. A court-appointed judge found she had not shown likely needless suffering, citing efforts to limit triggers, including female staff and privacy screens for showers and restroom use; the state did not guarantee all four guards would be women.
Pike's lawyers said Sept. 24 they would seek relief from the U.S. Supreme Court and continue urging Gov. Bill Lee to commute her sentence to life without parole. Slemmer's mother has described the execution as long-awaited justice; Pike expressed remorse in her clemency petition.
