TBA Law Blog


Posted by: Stacey Shrader Joslin on Nov 1, 2023

Knox County Criminal Court Judge Scott Green has denied Christa Pike’s motion to reopen her case and reduce her sentence, meaning she will remain on death row, according to the Tennessean. Pike, 47, is the only woman on death row and the last person sentenced to death in Tennessee who was 18 at the time of the crime. Pike’s attorneys argued that a recent Tennessee Supreme Court decision showed that age should be considered in sentencing. They also noted that she suffered from untreated severe mental illness and a history of repeated physical and sexual abuse. Green rejected the appeal, saying the Supreme Court’s decision applies only to juveniles. Pike was convicted in 1996 of murdering fellow student Colleen Slemmer at the Knoxville Job Corps. In 2004, she was convicted of attempted murder while she was incarcerated.