Tennessee is set to carry out its first execution of a woman in more than 200 years. The state Supreme Court has scheduled the execution of Christa Gail Pike, the only woman currently on Tennessee’s death row, for September 30, 2026.

If the date stands, Pike—now 49—would be the first woman executed in Tennessee since 1820, and only the fourth in state history. Death Penalty Information Center records note that the last woman executed in Tennessee was Martin Eve, who was hanged in 1820 as an accessory to murder.

Pike was convicted in the 1995 killing of Colleen Slemmer, a 19-year-old student in the Knoxville Job Corps program. Prosecutors argued the crime was driven by jealousy tied to Pike’s relationship with fellow student Tadaryl Shipp.

Court records describe a brutal attack in a wooded area near the University of Tennessee’s agricultural campus. Pike was found guilty of first-degree murder in 1996 and sentenced to death. Shipp received a life sentence with the possibility of parole, while another accomplice testified and was granted probation.

Behind bars, Pike was later convicted of attempting to strangle another inmate, adding 25 years to her sentence.

For decades, her attorneys have filed appeals, citing her mental health history and childhood abuse. Tennessee, which resumed executions after reviewing lethal injection procedures, last carried out an execution in 2025. Pike’s case is again fueling debate—between those focused on the crime’s violence and those urging clemency.