Tennessee has scheduled the execution of 50-year-old Christa Pike for September 30 — if carried out, she would become the first woman executed in the state since 1819, infohub.kz reports.
Christa Pike has spent nearly 30 years on death row. Her current death sentence was handed down in 1996 for a crime committed when she was 18.
Investigators found that in 1995, Pike, driven by jealousy, killed her 19-year-old classmate, whom she saw as a rival. Along with her 17-year-old boyfriend, she lured the victim into the woods, where they tortured her for half an hour. The murder was particularly brutal: a satanic symbol was carved into the victim's body, and Pike took a piece of the victim's skull as a trophy.
The defense for the convicted woman tried until the last moment to prevent the execution. Lawyers sent a 226-page petition to the governor requesting clemency. They cited Pike's difficult childhood, the abuse she suffered, and psychiatric diagnoses including bipolar and post-traumatic stress disorders.
The attorneys argued that the death penalty is excessive for a crime committed by a traumatized teenager. However, the governor of Tennessee denied the request, leaving the sentence in place.
Notably, Pike's accomplice avoided the death penalty in 1996 and was sentenced to life in prison. The court took into account that he was a minor at the time of the crime.