Job Corps

Christa Pike, the only woman on death row in Tennessee, was the subject of a scheduled execution that did not proceed as planned, drawing renewed national attention to her case. Pike was convicted in 1995 of the murder of fellow Job Corps student Colleen Slemmer in Knoxville. Coverage is focused on the legal complications surrounding the attempted execution and what happens next.

Christa Pike, the only woman on death row in Tennessee, is back in the news as the BBC publishes an account from someone who has witnessed nearly 500 executions and says they have never seen a case like hers. Pike was convicted of the 1995 murder of fellow job corps student Colleen Slemmer in Knoxville. The piece is prompting discussion about the rarity of executing women in the United States and the details of her case.