Pleas to halt Christa Pike’s execution issued as she is set to be first woman executed by US state in 200 years
Multiple pleas have been issued to halt Christa Pike's planned execution in Tennessee next week.
Pike has been on death row for more than three decades after she was found guilty of murdering Colleen Slemmer in 1995.
She and two others lured Slemmer to her death in the woods in Knoxville, with Slemmer beaten and stabbed before having a pentagram carved into her chest.
Pike became the youngest woman to be sentenced to death in US history when she was convicted of first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, and is set to be the first woman executed in Tennessee for over 200 years.
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However, her lawyers are attempting to stop the execution from happening having filed for clemency in a petition to Gov. Bill Lee.
The document details her history of mental health issues and the sexual violence she experienced from a young age, with her lawyers explaining that as a child she 'drew a man with a huge penis and demonic face to explain what happened in her home'.
"Her actions at 18 years old cannot be separated from a childhood marked by repeated rape, sexual abuse, and neglect that went unaddressed by the adults and state systems meant to protect her," the plea states.
Meanwhile, Pike's attorney, Kelly Gleason, said: “The governor now has an opportunity to protect a victim of child rape and correct the mistakes of the adults, institutions and systems that consistently failed Christa as a child.”
The State does not dispute Pike's history of sexual abuse.
Other groups are calling for clemency, including one comprised of 'organizations and individuals committed to raising awareness of Adverse Childhood Experiences'.
Their petition states: "Christa experienced virtually every form of adversity that those of us who work in this field seek to prevent. Her childhood was marked by chronic sexual abuse and rape, physical and emotional abuse, neglect, caregiver substance abuse, domestic and family violence, poverty, food insecurity, repeated moves and changes in schools, unstable caregivers, and the loss of the one adult she experienced as a consistent source of love and security."
Another group, Mercy for Christa, has also appealed to the governor, claiming that 'life imprisonment is a proper punishment for Christa'.
They added in their petition: "Christa experienced severe, repeated physical and sexual abuse, violence, and neglect as a child. By the time Christa was 18, she had been raped twice. She bears a network of scars on her back from childhood beatings. This childhood trauma left her with severe Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder."
As things stand, Pike is due to be executed via lethal injection on September 30.
Callum Jones