Friend of first woman to be executed in US state in over 200 years reveals her one request
Christa Pike's friend has spoken out about her request to loved ones ahead of her execution by lethal injection in the state of Tennessee.
Tomorrow (September 30), Pike is scheduled to become the first woman to be executed in the state in over 200 years.
The 50-year-old is currently the only woman on the state's death row after being convicted of first-degree murder in 1996.
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At the age of 18, she was sentenced to death for the murder of 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer, a fellow Jobs Corps worker from Knoxville, Tennessee, who was found dead with a symbol of Satanic ritual carved into her chest.
Pike's friend, Ashlee Sellars, who was previously incarcerated with her, has since addressed the execution date arriving, revealing the inmate had a request for her which she communicated in her final days on death row.
Sellars claimed Pike texted her from her cell earlier in the week, stating she did not want any of her friends or family to be present for her execution, as reported by the BBC.
Sellars said: "She doesn't want us to experience that."
It follows Sellars having spoken out in defence of Pike online.
In a video shared to Instagram account 'Mercy for Christa', she says: "Christa is, at her core, a lover of people. She just hasn't always had that same love. She hasn't always had that same model. And so her actions haven't always reflected.
"I would ask that Bill Lee would have some mercy for her."
Indeed, Sellars' referencing of Pike not always experiencing 'the same love' or a good 'model' links to an argument Pike's team has argued within several of its appeals to get her sentence reduced and prevent her execution.
In many appeals, Pike's attorneys have cited the alleged physical and sexual abuse and neglect she experienced as a child, alongside her 'severe mental illness at the time of her crime'.
They also challenged Tennessee's lethal injection protocol, the state's limitation on clergy meaning Pike's Buddhist spiritual advisor won't be able to be present at her execution or see her for 12 hours before, which she's argued restricts her 'sincerely held religious belief of Buddhism'.
A lawsuit they filed also questioned the method of her execution - Tennessee's new execution protocol relying solely on pentobarbital rather than a three-drug mix - arguing there 'is a substantial risk Pike will experience unnecessary superadded pain and suffering, terror, and disgrace' given her health conditions too.
However, ultimately, all appeals have failed.
At the last minute, a 226-page clemency petition was filed by Pike's lawyers. It's reported her team are hopeful there may be a last-minute reprieve.
If not, Pike will die by lethal injection tomorrow.
She was convicted alongside her then-boyfriend Tadaryl Shipp, aged 17, who received a life sentence, but is now eligible for parole. Shadolla Peterson, then 18, testified against Pike and Shipp and received probation.
On August 24, 2001, while incarcerated, Pike was also convicted of attempted first-degree murder of a fellow inmate named Patricia Jones.
Topics: US News, Crime, True crime
Poppy Bilderbeck