# Should Trauma and Youth Spare a Killer From Execution?

- URL: https://twotakes.us/stories/should-trauma-and-youth-spare-a-killer-from-execution
- Published: 2026-09-29T13:06:44.612708+00:00
- Topics: death-penalty, capital-punishment, criminal-justice, tennessee, clemency

## What the left says
- Christa Pike experienced sexual abuse beginning as a toddler and was raped at ages 11 and 17, trauma that was never presented to the jury that sentenced her to death
- She was only 18 at the time of the killing, and untreated bipolar disorder and PTSD shaped her actions during a crime she does not deny committing
- Modern research on adolescent brain development and trauma suggests an 18-year-old with this history of abuse should not bear the same culpability as a fully mature adult
- Her lawyers argue the execution process itself, including being strapped to a gurney, risks inflicting severe psychological terror given her PTSD

## What the right says
- Christa Pike was convicted by a jury of torturing and murdering 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer in a premeditated act carried out with an accomplice
- The brutality of the crime, including carving a satanic symbol into the victim's body and keeping a piece of her skull as a souvenir, reflects a level of depravity the justice system determined warranted death
- Colleen Slemmer's mother has waited three decades for the sentence to be carried out and supports the execution proceeding as scheduled
- Governor Bill Lee reviewed the case thoroughly before declining clemency, and the courts have upheld the sentence through the normal appeals process

## Common ground
- Christa Pike was 18 years old at the time of the 1995 killing of Colleen Slemmer, a classmate at Knoxville Job Corps
- Pike does not dispute her role in the killing
- The crime involved extreme brutality, including carving a satanic symbol into the victim's body
- This would be Tennessee's first execution of a woman in over 200 years
- Both sides recognize Pike suffered documented childhood sexual abuse, though they differ on how much weight it should carry

## Sources
- [HuffPost](https://www.huffpost.com/entry/tennessee-set-to-execute-a-woman-for-first-time-in-200-years_n_6ababb47e4b00588e1d5be1e) (Left)
- [NBC News](https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/ahead-rare-execution-lone-woman-tennessee-death-row-says-peace-rcna600279) (Lean Left)
- [NPR](https://www.npr.org/2026/09/29/g-s1-145408/tennessee-woman-execution) (Lean Left)
- [AllSides](https://www.allsides.com/news/2026-09-29-0700/criminal-justice-tennessee-execute-woman-first-time-200-years-after-governor-denies-clemency) (Center)
- [The Guardian US](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/sep/28/tennessee-woman-execution-christa-pike) (Left)
- [Washington Post](https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2026/09/29/tennessee-set-execute-woman-first-time-more-than-200-years/) (Lean Left)

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