Governor Lee Must Stop the Execution of Christa Pike
Tennessee is scheduled to execute Christa Pike on September 30, 2026. The National Council for Incarcerated and Formerly Incarcerated Women and Girls urges Governor Bill Lee to commute her sentence to life without parole. We join our sister organization Free Hearts and the many voices calling for her life to be spared so she can continue to take responsibility for the profound and irreversible harm she caused Colleen Slemmer and her family.
Christa was eighteen when she participated in the brutal murder of nineteen-year-old Colleen Slemmer. Nothing excuses that violence. Colleen’s life, her suffering, and the devastating loss her family has endured must not be minimized or forgotten. Asking the governor to spare Christa’s life does not diminish the value of Colleen’s.
Accountability and mercy are not opposites. We can recognize the full gravity of this crime without accepting that another death is justice.
Recognizing Christa’s responsibility also does not require us to ignore the violence committed against her. Beginning in early childhood, she endured repeated physical, emotional, and sexual abuse. An expert assessment found that she experienced nine of the ten categories of adverse childhood experiences, or ACEs. Subsequent evaluations identified bipolar disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, and brain damage present from birth.
These facts do not excuse her actions. They are essential to understanding the traumatized young person she was and assessing whether the state should take her life. Acknowledging the harm someone has caused should not require erasing the harm they have survived.
The disparities in Christa’s case demand scrutiny. Since the 1970s, seven men sentenced to death in Tennessee for crimes committed at eighteen have had their death sentences vacated. Her boyfriend, Tadaryl Shipp, was seventeen at the time of Colleen’s murder and therefore ineligible for the death penalty. He received a life sentence and is now eligible for parole. The third participant received probation. Christa, who had already turned eighteen, was sentenced to death.
The quality of her representation raises further concerns. Her court-appointed attorneys had no prior capital-case experience. Their limited presentation left the jury without a full account of her childhood abuse or the expert analysis needed to understand its consequences. Jurors were asked to make an irreversible decision without fully understanding the person whose life they were deciding.
Christa wants to live so she can leave some good in this world. She supports women who arrive in prison isolated and in need of help, offering care and advocating on their behalf. She has acknowledged responsibility for her actions and expressed remorse for the harm she caused. None of this can undo Colleen’s murder. It does show that Christa’s life can still include responsibility, growth, and service to others.
Execution would end that possibility. It would not restore Colleen’s life or undo her family’s loss. Allowing Christa to live would preserve her ability to continue the difficult, lifelong work of confronting the harm she caused and doing what good remains possible.
Commutation is not exoneration. It is a decision to preserve life without erasing responsibility.
The National Council urges Governor Lee to commute Christa Pike’s sentence to life without parole. We encourage everyone to visit Mercy for Christa and sign the petition calling for clemency.
It is not too late to stop this cycle of violence. Governor Lee must act now.