Episode Details

Christa Pike, set to become Tennessee’s first woman executed in over 120 years, faces court on August 11th as her legal team mounts a fierce challenge to her scheduled lethal injection on September 30th. Convicted in 1995 for the torture murder of 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer — a crime fueled by jealousy while she was just 18 — Pike’s attorneys argue her execution violates the Constitution. They contend that being put to death at a men’s prison by an all-male team is cruel and unusual, especially given her history of trauma from male abuse and her medical condition thrombocytosis, which makes lethal injection particularly dangerous and likely to fail due to her small veins. The team also seeks a Buddhist advisor present during the execution, underscoring her spiritual needs, and has secured a special master to oversee her case — a first for any death row inmate. This battle unfolds amid recent botched executions in Tennessee, including delays for Tony Carruthers due to vein issues and Oscar Franklin Smith’s halted execution over expired drugs, raising serious questions about the state’s lethal injection protocol and whether Pike’s unique circumstances make her execution not only unconstitutional but potentially fatal.

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