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Journalist reflects on interviewing Tennessee death row inmate Christa Pike 20 years ago
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Journalist Helen Roberts reflects on her 2006 interview with Christa Pike, who was the youngest woman on death row in the United States. Pike was convicted of the 1995 torture and murder of 19-year-old Colleen Slemmer. Roberts described finding it difficult to reconcile the polite, articulate woman she met in prison with the horrific nature of her crime. Pike recently survived two lethal injection doses during her scheduled execution and remains in critical condition.
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- Journalist Helen Roberts interviewed Christa Pike in December 2006 for More Magazine at a maximum-security prison in Nashville.
- Pike was convicted of the 1995 torture and murder of Colleen Slemmer when Pike was 18 years old.
- Roberts recalled that Pike was articulate, open, and appeared ordinary during the interview, making it hard to reconcile her demeanour with her violent crime.
- Pike experienced severe childhood neglect, alcoholism from her parents, and multiple sexual assaults before the murder.
- Pike recently survived two lethal doses of pentobarbital during her scheduled execution and remains in critical condition.