Christa Pike to be first woman executed in Tennessee in 200 years - but her defence say she's a victim too

ByStephanie Hegarty

BBC World Service Correspondent

Ashlee Sellars past heard from her person Christa Pike earlier this week, erstwhile Pike texted her from her compartment connected decease enactment arsenic she prepares to beryllium killed by lethal injection by the US authorities of Tennessee.

Pike told Sellars she does not privation immoderate of her loved ones to beryllium contiguous connected Wednesday erstwhile she is executed.

"She doesn't privation america to acquisition that," Sellars says.

Sellars finds it hard to reconcile this woman, whom she has lone known to beryllium benignant and protective, with the idiosyncratic who committed a heinous transgression 31 years ago.

Pike, present 50, was 18 erstwhile she and her fellow astatine the time, Tadaryl Shipp, beat, tortured and murdered Colleen Slemmer, a 19-year-old they met astatine a occupation grooming campy for troubled teens.

The execution created a media frenzy successful Knoxville, Tennessee successful 1995 erstwhile Colleen was recovered with a pentagram, a awesome of Satanic ritual, carved into her chest.

Pike had accused Colleen of insulting her and trying to bargain her boyfriend. Two different residents astatine the campy aboriginal testified that Pike had bragged astir the execution earlier and after, and showed them a portion of Colleen's skull.

A twelvemonth aboriginal she was sentenced to death, portion Shipp - who was 17 astatine the clip - was fixed a beingness condemnation with the anticipation of parole.

Now, aft years of failed appeals, Pike's execution has been acceptable for Wednesday. If it goes ahead, she volition beryllium the archetypal pistillate enactment to decease successful Tennessee successful much than 200 years. Only 18 women person been executed successful the US since the 1970s, compared to 1,663 men.

Colleen's parent has said she wants Pike's execution to hap truthful that her girl "finally tin beryllium resting".

But Pike's lawyers, who filed a 226-page clemency petition, are inactive hoping for a last-minute reprieve, and UN quality rights experts have besides called for the execution to beryllium stopped., external

Pike has a documented past of puerility intersexual abuse, abandonment and neglect. Her lawyers judge that if she was recovered blameworthy of the aforesaid transgression contiguous arsenic a teen she would not person a decease sentence.

In the years since her sentencing, her defence squad person uncovered details astir her puerility that they accidental the assemblage ne'er had the accidental to consider.

"It is mind-boggling that they did not contiguous immoderate of her past of maltreatment and rape, adjacent though they knew astir it," says Sandra Babcock, an adept successful sex and the decease punishment astatine Cornell Law School, who has worked connected Pike's defence.

"Her lawsuit is truthful uniquely compelling, not conscionable due to the fact that of her truly incomprehensible past of intersexual unit but the operation of that with her younker and her intelligence illness."

In 1995, forensic scientist Dr Diana McCoy was hired by Pike's defence squad and recovered she was severely neglected by some of her parents. McCoy's study recovered Pike was physically and sexually abused by respective of her mother's husbands and boyfriends, and raped respective times, erstwhile once she was 11 and again aged 17. Later it was discovered that she was repeatedly raped arsenic a toddler by her grandmother's boyfriend. McCoy said Pike's parent didn't judge her that these rapes happened.

But Pike's proceedings lawyer did not enactment McCoy connected the basal oregon telephone galore of the witnesses she recommended. These details emerged much than a decennary aboriginal successful a tribunal proceeding reviewing her case, erstwhile a caller squad of lawyers claimed ineffective assistance of counsel, a assertion that was denied by the judge.

In 2021 Pike was diagnosed with bipolar upset successful situation and has been medicated since.

Later, different forensic scientist moving for Pike's defence, Dr Bethany Brand, who assessed Pike successful 2023, said her lawsuit was highly uncommon due to the fact that she was abused by truthful galore radical who should person protected her.

"Her puerility was replete with physical, sexual, and affectional abuse. She was sexually violated by a fig of men, starting earlier she was schoolhouse age," she says.

Brand says Pike had untreated manic episodes owed to bipolar upset and untreated PTSD. "Both of those things unneurotic perfectly influenced however threatened she felt by the miss she ended up sidesplitting and her deficiency of affectional power successful that situation."

Babcock adds: "If they fto her beryllium executed, past what it tells america is that the decease punishment successful this state is conscionable a joke. It's not for the worst of the worst. It is for the radical who person the worst ineligible practice and who are the astir damaged and vulnerable."

Last year, Tennessee's Supreme Court ruled Pike had not shown circumstances that would warrant commuting her sentence. Her appeals process had been exhausted and a day was acceptable for her execution.

A national appeals tribunal had earlier ruled that the assemblage had already heard astir her hard puerility during grounds from her mother, father, and aunt during her trial. And that caller grounds of bipolar disorder, PTSD, and encephalon harm "mostly repeated" what the assemblage had heard and would not person changed the verdict.

The enactment has immoderate parallels with the high-profile lawsuit of murderer Lisa Montgomery, whose lawyers besides argued she was a mentally sick unfortunate of maltreatment who deserved mercy.

Montgomery's ineligible challenges failed to commute her sentence, and she was executed by lethal injection successful Indiana successful 2021.

Unless she is granted clemency by Tennessee Governor Bill Lee, Pike volition beryllium executed connected 30 September. That determination is improbable to travel until the past moment, and Lee has ne'er granted clemency successful a decease punishment lawsuit before.

The Tennessee Supreme Court this week denied Pike's petition to halt the execution. Her counsel accidental they person been discussing adjacent steps.

On her execution day, Pike has requested an all-female team. She says being held down by a radical of men volition exacerbate her trauma. The authorities of Tennessee has said the extremity is that pistillate guards volition transportation Pike to the situation wherever she volition beryllium executed but hasn't guaranteed it.

Colleen's parent May Martinez supports Christa's execution.

"She did the crime. I deliberation she should wage for it," she said connected Knoxville TV presumption WBIR successful 2021, and told the BBC this week she inactive stands by those comments.

Pike should endure earlier she dies, Martinez told WBIR. "I would consciousness amended that she felt the aforesaid symptom that Colleen did."

"My bosom breaks each azygous time due to the fact that I support reliving it and reliving it, and I can't nary more, and I privation this to hap earlier I die," she added.

"There's not a time goes by that I don't deliberation astir Colleen oregon however she died and however unsmooth it was. I conscionable privation Christa down truthful I tin extremity it, relieve my daughter, truthful she yet tin beryllium resting."

The Justice Coalition, a victim's rights advocacy group, has raised wealth to assistance Martinez question to Tennessee to ticker the execution.

The group's enforcement director, Robert Bracewell, said this condemnation was determined by a assemblage of Pike's peers and it is what Colleen's household want.

"We basal steadfast with the household that connected the 30 September her execution ought to proceed."

Ashlee Sellars grapples with 2 seemingly conflicting beliefs: that Colleen's parent has a close to consciousness justness has been served and that everyone, including her person Christa, deserves a accidental astatine redemption.

"When I deliberation astir reconciling who you spot connected TV oregon the horrible calamity that happened with Colleen, the lone happening that makes consciousness to maine is astir intelligence wellness and trauma and the mode that radical process worldly successful a infinitesimal erstwhile they don't person the things that they need," Sellars says.

"These horrible things hap successful your younker and past those traumas moved done you, successful our community, and you origin harm to idiosyncratic else."

Sellars met Pike successful situation portion serving a 25-year condemnation for her engagement successful a robbery-murder. They spoke to each different done the repast flaps successful their doors connected the precocious information unit. Now, Sellars works arsenic an advocator for justness betterment and victims of crime.

"People privation to cognize that everyone's beingness matters, right? They privation to cognize that Colleen's beingness mattered," she says.

"Christa successful this moment, I deliberation she is warring overmuch much for her beingness to substance than she is to really live."