The first woman to undergo capital punishment in Tennessee in more than 200 years made a formal request for an exclusively female observation team to be present during the execution procedure. The execution comes after US Supreme Court denied a last-minute bid to halt it.
The publication reported that she expresses a preference to be executed by gunfire administered by an all-female firing squad, with representatives from Slemmer’s family present as observers. The state objected to this proposal, asserting that Tennessee lacks both the requisite equipment and statutory authorization to implement hanging. The judge ruled in favor of the state’s position but granted the possibility of an all-female execution team.
During court proceedings in August, her legal representatives suggested hanging as an alternative, emphasizing that this was the execution method Tennessee previously employed for female inmates.
Christa Pike murder case: Who was Colleen Slemmer?
In January 1995, Pike, her 17-year-old boyfriend Tadaryl Shipp, and 18-year-old Shadolla Peterson enticed Colleen Slemmer, 19, to a wooded location where they subjected her to torture and then killed her. Both Pike and Shipp admitted to their involvement and were found guilty of first-degree murder in 1996. The three perpetrators and victim were all enrolled students at a Job Corps vocational training facility located in Knoxville. Shipp was sentenced to life imprisonment with eligibility for parole consideration While Pike received a capital sentence.
