In 1995, Christa Pike was 18 years old when she was convicted in connection with the murder of 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer in Tennessee. Her case would eventually make her the youngest woman sentenced to death in the United States at the time. Now, nearly three decades later, Pike remains Tennessee’s only woman on death row, with an execution scheduled for September 30, 2026. Her case has raised difficult questions about justice, rehabilitation, childhood trauma, mental health, and the death penalty. In this episode, we examine Pike’s background, the crime and conviction, the decades of appeals, and the legal and clemency efforts surrounding her scheduled execution—while considering the broader questions her case raises about punishment and second chances.
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