Lawyer of death row inmate Christa Pike believes baby photo could save her life before execution this month

Warning: This article contains discussion of violence and child abuse which some readers may find distressing

Lawyers representing death row prisoner Christa Pike have claimed that a 'beautiful' childhood photo of her could spare her life just two weeks away from her execution date.

Pike was just 18 years old when she and her boyfriend Tadaryl Shipp killed and mutilated her schoolmate Colleen Slemmer in 1995, with a judge describing it as a 'brutal' and 'horrific' murder at her sentencing.

Pike, who was 20 years old by then, was seen sobbing in court and asking to hug her mom on March 30 1996.

Her execution was ordered for January 12 1997 by electrocution, but it would take more than 30 years for a final execution date to be set for the killings, which involved cutting the throat of the victim and carving satanic symbols onto her body, and keeping a fragment of her skull.

She is now scheduled to be executed on September 30 by lethal injection.

Lawyers appealing for Pike's sentence to be commuted have highlighted the history of physical and sexual abuse that she suffered as a child, including at the hands of her grandmother's boyfriend.

Her lawyer Randall J. Spivey filed a petition to Tennessee Governor Bill Lee, who has the power to stop her being executed, detailing the horrific abuses that she was subjected to as a child, and enclosing a photo of her taken at the time when the abuses are believed to have started.

She is now 50 and is scheduled to be executed in just two weeks time (Tennessee Department of Corrections)

“There is a picture of Christa as a child that I often think about,” the petition says. “She is outside, her curly red hair is slightly blown by the wind. She has big brown eyes, and her mouth is drawn tight in a straight line.

“I think about this picture for two reasons. First, it is a beautiful picture not unlike the pictures I have of my own daughter at the same age. I am sure you have similar pictures of your daughters.

“Second, I think of this picture because I know that it was taken about the time Christa was first sexually abused."

They go on to describe some of the ways in which Christa was abused, before adding: "To me, this picture represents a devastatingly sad turning point, where the chaos that surrounded Christa began to leave marks on her that were too much to overcome.”

The photo of Pike as a little girl which her lawyers have submitted have evidence (Handout)

This appeal has been supported by experts at the UN and Amnesty International, with the UN representatives saying in a statement: “Pike’s execution would mark the culmination of a trajectory of severe physical and psychological suffering marked by childhood abuse and nearly three decades of solitary confinement on death row."

Meanwhile, Amnesty International's Deputy Director of Research Justin Mazzola highlighted problems with Pike's trial, saying: “She endured profound abuse and trauma as a child and had serious mental disabilities that were never adequately addressed nor treated.

“Due to inadequate legal representation, these issues were not fully presented to the jury. Knowing all that, it is unthinkable that Governor Lee would even consider moving forward with this execution.”

Over the last 50 years, eight teenagers received the death sentence in Tennessee, of which seven have since been reduced to life in prison. Pike is the only one remaining.

Governor Lee also granted clemency to 34 people on August 27 2026, including a man convicted of murder, but did not do so for Pike.