10 REASONS to SAVE CHRISTA'S LIFE
The State of Tennessee plans to execute Christa on September 30, 2026.
The decision to commute Christa's sentence rests with Governor Bill Lee. Here are 10 reasons why we are asking the Governor to commute her sentence to life without the possibility of parole.
01
Christa is a survivor of childhood sexual abuse and rape.
By the time she was 18, Christa had survived multiple childhood rapes and sexual abuse. Her first abuser, who sexually molested her for years when she was a toddler, forced his penis into her mouth repeatedly. He threatened to kill her pets if she told anyone about the abuse and locked her in a chicken coop. When Christa was in elementary school, she drew a picture of a man with a frightening face and large genitalia when asked to draw what she did at home. Although the school immediately contacted her parents about the drawing, the police were never called and Christa’s rapist was never prosecuted. Christa was again raped at age 11 by a neighborhood man who received a slap on the wrist. Christa remained without support and treatment for these childhood sexual assaults. Christa attempted suicide at age 12. Christa was again raped at age 17 by a stranger, and although she went to the hospital for treatment and gave a statement and description of her rapist to police, they never arrested the perpetrator.
02
Tennessee understands that child rape is one of the most horrific crimes that leaves an indelible mark on victims, yet it plans to execute a survivor of child rape who received no treatment or support.
The Tennessee legislature recently passed a bill authorizing the death penalty for child rape in recognition of its severe, lifelong consequences for victims. Rep. William Lamberth cited victim testimony that “the wounds [from child sexual abuse] are unimaginable, and the scars run deep. These are not crimes that victims rapidly heal from or move on with their lives. These are crimes that change children forever.” Tennessee’s plan to execute Christa contradicts its professed concern for child victims. After the state failed to properly investigate or prosecute Christa’s rapists, she was left on her own, struggling to manage her fear, trauma, and need to survive. The sexual violence Christa endured as a child remains with her today.
03
Christa was 18 years old at the time of the crime for which she was sentenced to death. Tennessee has never executed anyone who was so young at the time of the offense.
Scientific research shows that Christa’s brain was still developing at the time of the crime. She was more impulsive and reckless than an older adult. On top of this, she was struggling with untreated mental illness and trauma. Courts have recognized that juveniles are less culpable than adults and deserve more leniency at sentencing. This may be why Tennessee has never executed a teenaged offender. The youngest person ever executed by Tennessee in the modern era was 23 years old at the time of offense.
04
Christa’s abusive boyfriend, her co-defendant, received a life sentence and is eligible for parole because he had not yet reached his 18th birthday.
At the time of the crime, Christa was in an abusive relationship with one of her peers in Job Corps, a government-run program for troubled teens. Her boyfriend, Tadaryl Shipp, hit Christa, grabbed her by the neck, slapped her face, kicked her, and slammed her into walls. He was also psychologically controlling. Although he participated in Colleen Slemmer’s death, he received a life sentence and is now eligible for parole.
05
Christa was suffering from an undiagnosed mental illness at the time of the crime.
Christa was born with brain damage brought about by her mother drinking during her pregnancy. She later developed bipolar disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder brought on by her rapes. Bipolar disorder is a treatable disease that causes extreme swings between hypomanic episodes and severe depression. At the time of the crime, Christa had received no treatment for her mental illness and trauma.
06
Christa is deeply remorseful for her crime.
Christa confessed immediately and took the blame for her boyfriend Tadaryl Shipp’s role in order to spare him punishment. She is deeply remorseful. “There is no excuse for what I did. There are reasons for the way that I acted, but nothing excuses the crime and the damage it has caused to so many lives.” Now that she is receiving treatment for her mental illness, she cannot believe that she could ever have committed such a crime.
07
Christa’s lawyers failed to tell the jury about her rapes and mental illness.
Every person charged with a crime is entitled to effective legal representation. In Christa’s case, her lawyers failed to tell the jury about the most important facts of her life—including her childhood rapes and her rape at age 17. They also failed to tell the jury about her brain damage and mental illness and how it affected her ability to think clearly and rationally at the time of the crime.
08
Christa has been severely punished for her crime. She spent 27 years in solitary confinement, which is a form of mental torture.
Christa spent more than 27 years confined to a cell the size of a parking space. As a result of her solitary confinement, she no longer has long-distance vision, has lost all sensitivity to light, and has a hypersensitivity to sound and smell.
09
Tennessee will make shameful history by executing Christa Pike.
She would be the first woman executed in Tennessee in over 200 years. She would be the only person in the modern era to be executed for a crime committed at age 18.
10
An international human rights commission has reviewed Christa’s case and found that her execution would violate human rights law.
The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights reviewed the facts of Christa’s case and found that Tennessee violated her human rights to personal security, equality before the law, preservation of health and well-being, fair trial, protection from arbitrary arrest, and due process. The Commission concluded that her death sentence should be commuted.