KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WOKI / WVLT) – Less than 24 hours before Tennessee is scheduled to carry out the execution of Christa Gail Pike, the U.S. Supreme Court has denied her application for a stay, removing one of the final legal obstacles that could have delayed the execution.
Court documents released Tuesday indicate the nation’s highest court rejected Pike’s attempt to halt her scheduled execution. According to the filing, the state’s response argued that after more than three decades of legal challenges, Pike’s efforts to further delay the sentence should be denied.
The court filing stated, “After three decades of litigation, Pike seeks to further delay her execution.”
The state’s brief further argued that Pike had been afforded extensive legal review through both Tennessee courts and judicial proceedings, and that the interests of finality and closure for surviving victims weighed against granting the request.
Pike, 50, remains scheduled to be executed by lethal injection Wednesday morning at Riverbend Maximum Security Institution in Nashville.
The case stems from the 1995 murder of 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer, a fellow Job Corps student. Prosecutors said Pike, along with Tadaryl Shipp and Shadolla Peterson, planned and carried out the torture and killing of Slemmer on property near the University of Tennessee campus in Knoxville.
The crime gained national attention because of its brutality and the details presented during court proceedings. Pike was convicted of first-degree murder in 1996 and sentenced to death, becoming the only woman currently housed on Tennessee’s death row.
In recent weeks, Pike’s attorneys had pursued multiple appeals while advocacy groups and supporters sought clemency from Governor Bill Lee. Earlier this week, Lee announced he would not intervene in the case.
The denial from the U.S. Supreme Court significantly narrows Pike’s remaining legal options. As of Tuesday night, Tennessee corrections officials were moving forward with plans for Wednesday’s execution.
If carried out as scheduled, Pike would become the first woman executed in Tennessee in more than 200 years.
