Death penalty for a woman in America for the first time in 200 years

For the first time in over 200 years, the state of Tennessee in America is preparing to execute a woman. 50-year-old Christa Pike is scheduled to be executed by lethal injection for the 1995 murder of her 19-year-old school friend, Colleen Slemmer.

She was 18 years old when the crime occurred, and since this is the first time a woman has been given the death penalty in Tennessee since 1820, she has spent over three decades on death row. Tennessee Governor Bill Lee announced last Monday that after careful consideration, he decided not to grant her clemency. As a result, her lawyers have filed a petition with the U.S. Supreme Court as a last attempt to halt the execution. However, Christa Pike sent a letter to NBC News stating that she is not afraid to face death, only has a slight fear of the process, but is currently at peace mentally. It is reported that the mother of the deceased young woman is also preparing to attend the execution.

The reason for this murder was Christa Pike's suspicion that the deceased young woman was her boyfriend's mistress. Accordingly, she, along with two other teenagers, took Colleen to an isolated area, tortured and murdered her, and carved a pentagram symbol into her body. Pike's 17-year-old boyfriend, Tadaryl Shipp, who was involved in this incident, was sentenced to life imprisonment because he was a minor at the time. Additionally, the other individual involved, Shadolla Peterson, who was on lookout, received a suspended sentence for assisting government attorneys.

However, Pike's lawyers argue that the jury was not presented with proper evidence regarding the severe sexual and physical abuse she suffered as a child, as well as her medical conditions such as bipolar disorder and PTSD. Pike has expressed remorse for her actions, stating that it took her years to understand the gravity of her crime and that she took the life of someone else's child, sister, and friend. Since 1976, women constitute only 1% of all individuals sentenced to death across America, and only 18 women have been executed to date.