Major update in case of death row inmate set for historic execution

In 1995, the murder of 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer shocked Tennessee, and Christa Pike became the youngest woman on modern U.S. death row. Now decades later, she argues her age at the time, mental illness, and years in isolation have changed who she is.

The state maintains the sentence reflects the brutality of the crime. As courts weigh legal and medical claims, one voice remains constant—Colleen’s mother, still seeking justice after years of loss.