First woman to be executed in US state in over 200 years explains why she feels a connection to Lindsay Clancy
The first woman to be executed in America in more than 200 years says she has a 'unique' connection to Lindsay Clancy over 'female issues'.
Christa Pike is set to be put to death by the state of Tennessee tomorrow (September 30) following the 1995 murder of 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer.
The 50-year-old has been on death row for around 30 years, and has made numerous requests surrounding the way in which she is killed.
Pike's attorneys have requested that her execution is carried out by an all-female team, as they argued that being restrained by a group of men could retraumatize her, given her alleged past sexual abuse.
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If the request is denied by the state, she has asked to be hanged instead.
But in a recent interview with The Times, she claimed that if she were tried today, the outcome could have been entirely different, comparing her case to that of Lindsay Clancy's.
"We are both females who got into trouble because of uniquely female issues," she said.
Clancy admitted to killing her three young children, but argued that she was not criminally responsible because she was experiencing an episode of postpartum psychosis at the time.
During her murder trial, the jury was unable to reach a unanimous verdict, and she is now awaiting a hearing to determine whether she will face a retrial.
Pike, who was found guilty of beating a fellow student for 30-45 minutes which ultimately led to her death, further claimed: "One thing [that] is different, however, is that times have changed a lot on awareness of women's issues since I was put on trial."
During her trial, the prosecution argued Pike believed Slemmer was interested in her boyfriend, Tadaryl Shipp.
On January 12, 1995, Pike, Shipp and a friend, Shadolla Peterson, lured Slemmer into a secluded area of the University of Tennessee's agricultural campus, where they attacked her. The assault involved beatings and cutting with a box cutter and miniature meat cleaver. A pentagram was also carved into her chest.
Pike recently noted that she was 'pleased' Clancy was getting the help she needed, as she further argued: "There are so any women who don't get the help they need: me and others."
The criminal added: "I was a mentally ill 18-year-old girl who committed a crime with two other individuals and I was the only one to receive this sentence.
"Now they want to torture me to death, after I’ve done the work to make myself mentally well."
Mia Williams