Christa Pike Execution: Convicted Murderer Refuses Last Meal After 30 Years on Death Row

Christa Pike has refused to choose a last meal as she prepares to face execution in Tennessee after spending nearly 30 years on death row.

Pike, 50, is scheduled for 10 a.m. on Wednesday, September 30, at the Riverbend Maximum Security Institution in Nashville, Tennessee, in what would be Tennessee’s first execution of a woman in more than 200 years.

According to the Tennessee Department of Correction, Pike has declined to select a final meal, a customary request offered to inmates before an execution.

Why was Christa Pike sentenced to death?

Pike was sentenced to death for her role in the 1995 murder of 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer.

Pike was 18 at the time of the killing, while her then-boyfriend was 17.

Prosecutors said Slemmer was lured into a wooded area, where she was tortured and killed by Pike and her boyfriend.

Pike reportedly told prosecutors she believed Slemmer was trying to steal her boyfriend.

Pike was later convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to death.

Years after receiving her death sentence, Pike was also convicted of attempted first-degree murder after she strangled another inmate.

Why was Christa Pike’s execution clemency request denied?

Pike’s attorneys argued that her childhood was marked by severe abuse and trauma as they sought clemency from Tennessee Governor Bill Lee.

Lee rejected the request and said he would not intervene to stop the execution.

Pike’s attorneys have argued that her traumatic childhood and mental health struggles should be considered when assessing the actions she committed as an 18-year-old.

Despite the clemency denial, her lawyers have continued efforts to stop the execution.

Christa Pike refuses final meal ahead of execution

According to WJHL, the Tennessee Department of Correction confirmed that Pike has chosen not to request a final meal.

Death row inmates are typically allowed to select a customized meal before their execution, capped at $20.

Further, the meal must be purchased locally or prepared in the prison kitchen, strictly tobacco or alcohol products.

Since Pike refused, she will receive the standard meal provided at the prison.

Colleen Slemmer’s mother speaks out

Slemmer’s mother, May Martinez, said Pike’s execution could finally give her family a sense of justice, although it would never bring her daughter back.

Maybe now finally we have the justice, Martinez said.

She added that she hoped Pike’s execution would prevent her from harming another person.